When Dalton Risner rejoined the Minnesota Vikings’ roster in late May, fans rejoiced.
Dalton Risner’s Roster Spot in Peril
The club became deep at offensive guard, a statement that the team’s faithful could not have uttered in the last decade. Risner would compete for a starter’s job with Ed Ingram and Blake Brandel, and at the time, the sentiment was “may the best man win.”
Fast forward to late August, with roster cutdowns just days away, and Risner may not even make the 53-man depth chart at all. He somehow found his way to the roster bubble, and August 27th will reveal if Risner is on the outside looking in.
In fact, the Vikings may be trending toward releasing Risner next week, two sources tell VikingsTerritory. It’s an odd development after Risner joined the club in May via free agency. The sources didn’t elaborate on the “why” of the would-be release, but Risner is injured at the moment, and the team appears to fancy Ingram as the starting right guard.
It’s also worth noting that Risner was tossed over to right guard this summer when he’s built a career playing left guard.
Meanwhile, Minnesota signed two players this week, Matthew Cindric and Chuck Filiaga, who just so happen to play Risner’s position. Both men feature offensive line versatility but very vividly had experience at guard in college. Cindric re-signed with the purple team on Wednesday after about three months away. The Vikings found him via undrafted free agency in April but dropped him when — you guessed it — Risner returned in late May. Now, Cindric is back, which could hint that Risner is heading toward the open market.
Filiaga spent four years at the University of Michigan — a teammate of J.J. McCarthy — and 2022 with the University of Minnesota. He landed with the Green Bay Packers via undrafted free agency 16 months ago and later joined the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas, where Wade Phillips was the head coach. Wade Phillips’ son, Wes, is the Vikings’ offensive coordinator.
Like Cindric, Filiaga is competing for a backup offensive line spot, a job title currently held by Risner.
The crux of it is this: Risner is a wonderful pass-protecting guard, and those don’t grow on trees. He’s not some fringe reservist type hoping to snag a roster spot. With injuries, however, his time with the Vikings appears to be nearing an end.
It would also explain why Risner’s 2024 contract in Minnesota was so small by conventional standards, one year and $2.4 million, with $1.1 million guaranteed. When free agency began in March, some expected Risner to fetch between $4-$7 million. No luck.
On Cindric and Filiaga, perhaps they’ll visit the practice squad and be a call-up away from the gameday roster.
Minnesota’s regular season kicks off in 17 days.
