The waiver of LB Donovan Manuel is the corresponding action to the signing of Tonyan.
On the same day that we received encouraging news regarding T.J. Hockenson’s recovery from his knee injury sustained last season, we found out that the Minnesota Vikings have added more players to their tight end position.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler report that tight end Robert Tonyan is joining the Vikings. The terms of the agreement have not yet been made public, and no corresponding roster move has been declared.
Tonyan will have officially played for every team in the NFC North if the Vikings sign him. He signed with the Detroit Lions and spent the majority of that season on their practice squad after being selected undrafted out of Indiana State in 2017. The Green Bay Packers then signed him off of their practice squad for the last four games of that season, and he stayed with the team until 2022. Additionally, he played for the Chicago Bears this past season, as shown in the picture above.
Tonyan played in all 17 games for the Bears during his one and only season in Chicago, but he only managed to catch 11 passes for 122 yards, making it something of a letdown. He caught 137 receptions for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns in his five plus seasons in Green Bay, including an 11-touchdown season in 2020.
