He's back

[MaroonBells]

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
Veteran guard Dalton Risner is re-signing with the Vikings on a one-year deal, per source.

[MAD GAINZ]

Wonder how much he signed for... is he back as a starter at LG or just depth? This makes me think one of two things, either Brandel hasn't been as sharp in OTAs or Feeney and the rest of our guard depth hasn't looked that great.

[MaroonBells]

Wonder how much he signed for...  is he back as a starter at LG or just depth?  This makes me think one of two things, either Brandel hasn't been as sharp in OTAs or Feeney and the rest of our guard depth hasn't looked that great.

Yeah, hard to know what to make of it. They seemed high on Brandel, even saying he'd "earned" the right to start at LG and paid him accordingly. Was that all a ruse to push Risner's asking price down? Could mean any number of things though. Is Brandel not looking good? Feeney? Ingram? The money Risner gets will say a lot. 

Either way, the better the depth, the better the team.

[StickierBuns]

Wonder how much he signed for...  is he back as a starter at LG or just depth?  This makes me think one of two things, either Brandel hasn't been as sharp in OTAs or Feeney and the rest of our guard depth hasn't looked that great.

The latter. I don't think Risner is back as a starter. JMO. But if he is....I'm never listening to what a coach has to say again, lol.

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https://twitter.com/Dalton_Risner66/stat...9560786166

[JR44]

After seeing Brandel in game situations, I do not think there was anything they could have seen in OTA practices that would have changed their minds if they really felt he was the starter going into the season. It would seem odd and also worrisome if they waited this long to secure their starter at G, so would make more sense for it to be in a backup role.

[MaroonBells]

No details on amount, but it sounds like the deal is incentive laden based on how many games he starts. It could just be "hey, I know you're set to start Brandel, but let me at least compete at one of the guard positions. Put my money in incentives. If I don't win, you get off cheap. Worst case scenario is you get way better depth than you had yesterday."

At the very least this probably boots Feeney off the team, which is not a terrible thing.

[NorseFeathers]

Pro Football Focus assigned Risner a mid-pack grade at guard (46th) last season, but ESPN’s pass block win rate metric slotted him ninth. Risner, who played for just more than $2.5MM last season, ran his start count to 73 in 2023. It will be interesting to see the numbers here, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates a 53-man roster bonus and per-game roster bonuses are present in this contract. The Vikes had re-signed Blake Brandel to a one-year, $3.25MM deal. While ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert notes Brandel worked with Minnesota’s first-stringers at OTAs, Risner’s return figures to affect the veteran backup’s standing.

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/0...ton-risner

[Montana Tom]

What's wrong with Risner?
What's right with Risner?
I look at his midling PFF grade from 2023. A 57.1 combined PFF grade.
How much of that was due to him not being signed until week 7? Lack of familiarity with our system? Was he a liability in the run game, contributing to our weak numbers rushing?
Could a full year-plus of familiarity help his performance?

First off, I'm glad that they re-signed him, for depth or as a starter. If Brandel truly is that much better, he should start.
Risner is built similar (6'5" 312 lbs), compared to Brandel (6'7" 315 lbs).
I think we are better at OL with Risner than without. If for no other reason than depth. Glad he got a job.

[supafreak84]

I'm not sure why it took this long (again), because at worst he's a serviceable starter and excellent in pass pro. For an interior that's been nothing but a mess the last few years you'd think he would have been a no-brainer to bring back. Maybe Brandel works out but you are asking a lot for a late round swing tackle trying to transition inside to guard.

I wonder if Brandel is truly our starter at LG, if they might tinker with Risner at center? It was a position he excelled at his freshman year at K State.

[medaille]

I'm not sure why it took this long (again), because at worst he's a serviceable starter and excellent in pass pro. For an interior that's been nothing but a mess the last few years you'd think he would have been a no-brainer to bring back. Maybe Brandel works out but you are asking a lot for a late round swing tackle trying to transition inside to guard.

I wonder if Brandel is truly our starter at LG, if they might tinker with Risner at center? It was a position he excelled at his freshman year at K State.

I think it's pretty clear that Risner wants legit starting guard money and no team wants to pay him legit starting guard money, they'll pay him borderline starting guard money that doesn't hamper their ability to upgrade if it comes to that, so how long it takes for him to sign is dependent on how long he waits before settling.

I think Brandel and Risner are probably fairly close and will be competing for the starting position.  I doubt there is an established starter right now, just two guys they wouldn't feel horrible starting.

I think there's zero percent chance that Risner gets legit looks at the center position.  I think we're more likely to resign Bradbury for 4 more years than to give Risner the starting job there.  I do think they'll have him and probably all the other interior lineman some time "tinkering" at the other positions just to know where they stand if injuries happen and they need to figure stuff out.