Getty Tight end Colin Thompson, formerly of the Carolina Panthers.
The Minnesota Vikings officially kicked off training camp over the weekend and didn’t wait long to make their first personnel addition.
Minnesota signed tight end Colin Thompson, most recently of the Carolina Panthers, on Monday, July 24. Heavy NFL insider Matt Lombardo broke the news via Twitter.
Veteran TE Colin Thompson has signed with the #Vikings, per league sources. Thompson’s a strong leadership presence added to that locker room. | @HeavyOnSports
“Veteran TE Colin Thompson has signed with the #Vikings, per league sources,” Lombardo wrote. “Thompson’s a strong leadership presence added to that locker room.”
Colin Thompson Bounced Around NFL for 6 Years Before Landing With Vikings
GettySafety Harrison Smith (right) of the Minnesota Vikings and tight end Colin Thompson (left), formerly of the Carolina Panthers, get into a scuffle during an NFL game in November 2020.
Thompson was out of the league last year after playing two seasons as a member of the Panthers between 2020-21. However, he hadn’t given up on his NFL dream.
According to Lombardo, Thompson spent the last year training near the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, preparing himself for his next shot in the league. It took awhile, but that opportunity is now here in the form of a deal with the Vikings.
The specifics of the agreement remain unknown, though it figures to be a short, inexpensive “prove-it” type of deal considering Thompson’s NFL history. As an undrafted free agent out of Temple University in 2017, Thompson signed on with the New York Giants. However, doctors performed an emergency appendectomy on the tight end, an issue that arose during training camp, which cost Thompson his chance in the Big Apple.
The tight end earned a practice squad stint with the Chicago Bears that began later in 2017. However, the Bears waived him in September of 2018. Thompson eventually caught on in Carolina, landing on the practice squad, getting waived, then signing back on as a practice player again a couple of times, according to Spotrac.
During his time as a member of the Panthers, Thompson appeared in a total of 26 regular season games, earning six starts. He played 284 snaps as a tight end over that span and doubled as a special teams contributor, earning 234 snaps in that phase of the game, per Football Reference.
Thompson is almost exclusively a blocking tight end, as quarterbacks targeted him just three times during his time in Carolina. Thompson caught one of those passes for seven yards and a touchdown.
Colin Thompson Joins Loaded Vikings TE Group That Includes T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver
GettyTight end Josh Oliver, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, joined the Minnesota Vikings on a three-year deal during the 2023 offseason.
Thompson joins a loaded position group in Minnesota that features two-time Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson, who is poised for a long-term and lucrative contract extension either this offseason or the next, and 2023 free agent acquisition Josh Oliver.
Oliver is also primarily a blocking tight end, though he has tallied 26 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns across 786 offensive snaps played over this three-year NFL tenure, per Pro Football Reference. The Vikings signed Oliver to a three-year, $21 million contract in March.
Thompson will likely compete with tight ends Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse for a roster spot during training camp. They were listed respectively as the third-string and fourth-string tight ends on the Vikings’ depth chart as of Monday, per ESPN.
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Vikings Sign Veteran Tight End, Ex-Panther as Camp Kicks Off