It appears that many former Green Bay Packers players frequently find their way to other NFC North teams once their time with the team ends. The most well-known example is Brett Favre, who spent the final two seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. More recently, Pro Bowl pass rusher Za’Darius Smith joined with the Vikings after his tenure in Green Bay came to an abrupt end.
This past offseason, two significant former Packers signed with Minnesota: running back Aaron Jones and tight end Robert Tonyan. The former is the team’s starting running back, whereas the latter was recently released.
Former Green Bay Packers Tight End Robert Tonyan was released by the Minnesota Vikings
Tonyan, who spent one season with the Chicago Bears after leaving Green Bay, signed with the Vikings as a free agency this offseason (as previously noted). The signing was remarkable since Minnesota became Tonyan’s fourth NFC North team during his career.
He began his career on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad and spent five seasons with Green Bay. The Bears and Vikings are the other two teams in the division.
Tonyan’s stint in Minnesota got off to a rocky start when he suffered back issues throughout training camp. He did not make the team’s 53-man roster but was added to the practice squad.
In each of the last three weeks, the Vikings promoted Tonyan from the practice squad to the active roster. However, he was not assigned a particular offensive objective. In fact, he has only played 11 offensive snaps this year.
Tonyan was released by Minnesota, according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson. Myles Gaskin is a running back. Fans may recall Jones, another former Packer, leaving Sunday’s game against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in London due to a hip injury.
What’s Next for Former Green Bay Packers Tight End Robert Tonyan After Being Released by the Minnesota Vikings?
As previously stated, Tonyan has been promoted from Minnesota’s practice squad three times this season. This is essential since the NFL rule states that a player can only be promoted from the practice squad three times in a season. If the Vikings decided to re-elevate Tonyan, they would need to add him to the 53-man roster.
Keeping this in mind, Tonyan has three options moving ahead. First, he can re-sign with Minnesota’s practice squad and play the remainder of the 2024 NFL season there. If this is the plan, the Vikings are expected to re-sign him on Wednesday.
The second situation relates to the first. Tonyan can be re-signed to the Vikings’ practice squad, but if he wants to return to the active roster, he must be signed to the 53-man roster. If they had wanted to do this, they presumably would not have released him.
Third, Tonyan plans to sign with another team. As previously said, Minnesota could have just returned him to the practice squad instead of dismissing him on Tuesday, so this appears to be the most likely situation. Because they elected not to, it is probable that their time in Minnesota has come to an end.
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