Getty Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell and Packers coach Mike Lafleur after the 2022 season opener.
The Minnesota Vikings believed they had something in undrafted rookie tight end Ben Sims, and that did not go unnoticed by the Green Bay Packers.
Sims, signed after the draft, saw his first NFL offseason and training to completion — an achievement for any undrafted rookie.
But buried beneath a deep tight end room that Minnesota has poured plenty of investment in, Sims did not make the final roster. However, he was wanted back on the practice squad.
In a meeting with other practice-squad candidates at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30, at the Vikings training facilities, Sims was suddenly pulled outside a half-hour into the meeting. He learned that he was headed to Green Bay.
“One of our player-personnel people, he was like, ‘You just got claimed off waivers. You’ve got to go,” Sims said in a locker room interview in Green Bay after signing to the 53-man roster on Thursday. “I was like, ‘Where am I going?’ He said I was coming to Green Bay. So I grabbed my truck, packed my bags and drove here yesterday.”
Sims was the only Vikings player released by Tuesday’s roster deadline who was picked up on waivers.
His story is symbolic of just how fluid the NFL is at this time of the season when teams must part ways with nearly half of their 90-man training camp roster — and bringing them back on the practice squad is no guarantee.
First #Vikings “P-Squad” meeting Ben Sims asked to leave..
#Packers HC📞 – when can you be here?
“Mapped it out can be in 4️⃣ hr!” – Pickup 🛻 1265 Lombardi bound
Multiple “PS” offers @zayneanderson23 was just leaving Buffalo when agent called
“🔃 you’re headed to Green Bay”
Ben Sims Credits Vikings TE Room
GettyFormer Vikings tight end Ben Sims brings in a reception during the 2023 preseason.
At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Sims ran a sub-4.6 40-yard dash at the combine. The 23-year-old prospect out of Baylor has the frame and explosiveness to become a contributor as a run-blocker and pass-catcher in the NFL, especially in a Packers tight end room that is made entirely of rookies.
He’ll be a name to watch after he played all three games in the preseason with the Vikings and credited the tight end room in Minnesota.
“I was pleased with the way I was coached. I was pleased with the guys, the older (tight end) group in Minnesota, they let me lean on them a lot. So I was really fortunate to have a group of vets that really helped me and go out of their way to be there for me,” Sims said.
Vikings Investing at the Tight End Position
GettyT.J. Hockenson signed a lucrative contract extension ahead of the 2023 season.
T.J. Hockenson‘s four-year, $66 million contract extension he signed on Thursday, September 1, continued an upward trend where tight ends are becoming a premier position in today’s NFL.
Even before the Hockenson deal, Minnesota made another massive signing at the position by signing former Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver to a three-year, $21 million deal — a top-20 contract at the position.
The Vikings also hold third-string tight end Johnny Mundt in high regard. Kevin O’Connell, unprompted, called Mundt, the “best third tight end in the NFL.”
When the O’Connell regime arrived, it was expected that they’d run 11 personnel (three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back) much like the Los Angeles Rams did during their Super Bowl run in 2021.
However, their goal is to be as multiple as possible to disguise the offense, and no position offers more versatility than a tight end — meaning Minnesota could show more 12 personnel (one running back, two wide receivers, two tight ends) this season,
“Now we go with more 11, and it’s also about how the defense is matching you. But we want to have a lot of different tools as an offense to attack a defense, and maybe sometimes that’s getting bigger,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said during his introductory press conference in February 2022, per Vikings.com. “They’ve had some success with some different personnel groups here, just watching the tape. They have a really talented fullback (C.J. Ham) here. All those things are intriguing. We’re really just trying to get the best players on the field.”
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Packers Poach Promising Tight End From Vikings