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Vikings Beef Up Ailing O-Line with Mammoth Rookie
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- Vikings Beef Up Ailing O-Line with Mammoth Rookie
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
The Vikings beefed up the offensive line today, doing so after the brutal news surrounding LT1 Christian Darrisaw and LG1 Donovan Jackson .
Rookie OT Tristan Leigh has been brought back to the Twin Cities.
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Consider the update to arrive courtesy of the team's official social media : "The #Vikings have announced the following roster moves – Placed G Donovan Jackson on IR – Signed T Tristan Leigh to the practice squad – Released CB Natrone Brooks, P Johnny Hekker and RB Devin Neal from the practice squad – Waived CB Tyreek Chappell from IR."
Vikings Beef Up OL by Re-Signing Tristan Leigh
In football, the point isn't to be the biggest. It does help, though.
Leigh comes in at 6'4″ and 312 pounds. Just on a basic visual level, Leigh's frame looks like that of an NFL blocker. He went to Clemson to play his college ball with a lot of hype but fell short of expectations. He then slipped out of the 2026 NFL Draft entirely, allowing the Vikings to swoop in with the nice UDFA deal to get him to the Twin Cities.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Clemson Tigers offensive lineman Tristan Leigh (71) against the Texas Longhorns during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Minnesota found room for him early on, keeping him on the practice squad. But then Nolan Teasley started throwing around practice squad players faster than a McDonald's tosses around french fries.
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Circle back around to the social media update up top. Teasley has yet again shown three players the door, clearing room to add more talent to the practice squad as the GM continues to blend up the depth guys in search of the perfect depth cocktail.
Tristan Leigh , at least for now, is part of the mix. He'll need to prove worthy of keeping around beyond the short term since guys at his level — the practice squad — have zero job security.
Consider the scouting report from Lance Zierlein ahead of the draft : "Former five-star recruit with good length and athletic ability but inconsistencies that could hurt his chances on the next level. Leigh has the footwork and hand-timing for protection success in the early stages of the rep but struggles anchoring against power. He gets into trouble with excessive lunging. He's quick out of his stance and is able to hit lateral/second-level landmarks but his lack of sustain strength will be hard for him to overcome as a run blocker."
Leigh sounds raw, somebody with talent and upside but in need of more time to get things figured out. A practice squad job therefore makes a ton of sense. Keep the kid away from the spotlight as he works on refining his game. New OL coach Keith Carter has received a lot of praise since getting shoved into the position, so we'll see if he can keep shining up the young lad.
Aug 28, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) at the line of scrimmage against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
The Vikings' new starting offensive line is going to feature Joe Huber as the LG1. He, too, was an undrafted talent, quickly proving to be a nice piece of the puzzle. And then look for Michael Jurgens to possibly get activated off the IR to further reinforce the iOL depth. Other depth options to note are Caleb Tiernan and Henry Byrd.
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Behind the scenes, Tristan Leigh will be looking to show he can develop into a nice depth option for the present and the future.
He is 23.
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