In the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings brought home an old friend, who had previously fought the Border Battle with the green rivals for a few years. Eric Wilson, once a Vikings undrafted rookie find, left in the 2021 offseason and returned in 2025. On Monday, a comparable story unfolded.
Vikings Reunite with an Old Friend
Carson Wentz was placed on IR because of his severe shoulder injury that requires season-ending surgery. He battled through the pain for weeks, but his journey (at least for this season) is over.
That has opened a roster spot, but the Vikes didn’t add a quarterback; they signed a tight end. Ben Sims was re-acquired after spending more than two years with the Green Bay Packers. It’s a reunion with the tight end, as he was part of Minnesota’s 2023 class of undrafted rookies.
Green Bay waived him on Saturday, and the Vikings put in a waiver claim and won the bid.
The Vikings voice on their website, “The Vikings were awarded Sims after he was placed on waivers by the Packers. Sims first joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in May 2023. After a solid preseason, he was waived during roster cuts as the Vikings narrowed from 90 players to 53. The Packers quickly scooped up Sims via waivers in August 2023.”
He was indeed pretty good in the 2023 preseason, but the Vikings said “goodbye” regardless, sticking with T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, and 2022 pick Nick Muse as their tight end trio.
Hockenson and Oliver are still around; Muse is gone. The third guy in the position room is undrafted rookie Ben Yurosek. There’s a chance the Vikings have to compete without Oliver for a while, as he was carted off the field last Thursday. He has not been placed on IR with Wentz, which could indicate just a minor injury for the blocking specialist.
Another tight end attached to the Vikings is rookie sixth-rounder Gavin Bartholomew, who has unfortunately not made his NFL debut. The Pitt product has been dealing with a back injury and remains on the PUP list.
Yurosek has played 43 offensive snaps in his career. Sims is a more experienced player with 37 games (six starts) under his belt. He caught eight passes for 63 yards and one touchdown in his time with the Packers.
That’s certainly limited production from a receiving standpoint, but he has played 414 offensive snaps and another 187 on special teams.
Packers Wire’s Zach Kruse detailed why the Packers parted ways with the ex-Viking, “With Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave and John FitzPatrick handling all the responsibilities of the tight end position to start the 2025 season, Sims was active for only three games and played only 14 snaps on special teams during the first seven weeks. In need of a roster spot for Watson, the Packers determined Sims to be expendable. Sims caught eight passes for 63 yards and a touchdown over 37 games with the Packers. He was used primarily as an inline blocking tight end.”
Sims’ first shot at taking the field with his old and new team will arrive on Sunday, when the Vikings hope to snap their losing streak against the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell’s operation has defeated Kevin O’Connell’s squad five consecutive times, with O’Connell’s only win in that rivalry coming in his first matchup.
Baylor alumnus Sims is 25 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
