After it seemed like a return to the Minnesota Vikings was becoming more and more unlikely as the offseason pushed along, veteran offensive guard Dalton Risner re-signed with the purple and gold earlier this week to compete for a starting spot on the team's roster for the upcoming 2024 season.
Risner first signed with the Vikings a few days after the team's second game of the 2023 season. He wound up appearing in 15 of Minnesota's 2023 matchups and he started at left guard in 11 of the contests.
Now that Risner is back with the Vikings, the expectation is that he will compete during the next few months with fellow Minnesota offensive lineman Blake Brandel for the starting left guard spot on the team's final 2024 roster.
Josh Metellus "super excited" Dalton Risner is back with the Minnesota Vikings
Following one of the Vikings' OTA practices earlier this week, Minnesota safety Josh Metellus spent some time answering questions from the local Twin Cities media.
At one point, Metellus was asked about the Vikings re-signing Risner, and the 2023 team captain said the following about why he's happy the veteran offensive lineman is back for another season in purple.
"Super excited. Any time you can add good players to your team, that's a plus.
...He's a guy who would always finish at the pile. You want guys like that on your team. Team guys, guys who want the team to win first. You need everybody you can in that way."
Metellus's excitement about Risner re-signing with Minnesota seems like it's a feeling that's shared by the majority of the locker room, which makes it even more odd that the veteran guard remained unsigned for so long this year.
But Risner is back, and now all the time that he spent this offseason without a team is in the past. His focus for the next few months will be on proving to Minnesota's coaching staff that he deserves to begin the 2024 season as the team's starting left guard.