It's not classy to celebrate someone getting a demotion or struggling at their job, but fans of the Minnesota Vikings aren't likely to feel too bad about some recent news about the NFL's officiating crews for the 2025 NFL season.
Vikings fans may be friendly, but they also hold a grudge. Once in the doghouse, it can be hard to escape and that's exactly what is happening with a referee named Tra Blake, who was a head official last season.
Minnesota Vikings fans can be relieved a certain referee won't be a head official in 2025
Recently, it was announced that umpire Alex Moore will be promoted to referee for 2025. To make room for him, former referee Tra Blake will return to being an umpire for the upcoming slate of games in 2025.
Minnesota Vikings fans will remember Blake as the official who "missed" an egregious facemask penalty when the team played the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 8 of the 2024 season. The uncalled penalty twisted the neck of quarterback Sam Darnold, but thankfully, it didn't do significant physical damage to him.
In addition to that incident, fans of Minnesota may recall the amazing comeback game against the Colts in 2022, where an officiating crew led by Tra Blake nullified a pair of Chandon Sullivan interceptions that were returned to the end zone.
At this point, it isn't known if Moore will take over the crew that operated under Blake in the past, but perhaps this will be enough for Vikings fans to feel a little justification for what felt like huge mistakes that cost Minnesota.
The reason for Blake's reassignment was not given, but it feels like it has something to do with his performance during the 2024 NFL season. Although that may not be the case, at this point, any reason given would be speculation.
Blake becomes the 12th referee to be reassigned to a different position during the Super Bowl era. The other 11 were reassigned for various reasons, including age, other commitments, and work preference.
The officials working a game in the NFL shouldn't be a big story, but the way things went down with Tra Blake and the Minnesota Vikings makes this news regarding the referee's reassignment feel like something that could help the team during the 2025 season as well as future seasons.