The Vikings sitting a notable edge rusher on the bench usually involves generating headlines, but the decision to move away from Dallas Turner starting in Week 8 didn’t pickup much attention.
So much of the recent attention has rested on Carson Wentz’s season-ending injury and J.J. McCarthy returning to the field. Lost in the shuffle, Mr. Turner didn’t begin the game versus the Chargers. The move was to lean on a trio of off-ball ‘backers — Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, & Ivan Pace — alongside just a single edge rusher: Jonathan Greenard (someone who has been playing sturdy, tough football). Is that a bad sign for where Turner is trending?
Vikings Sit Dallas Turner in Week 8
No doubt, Turner needs to start playing better football. He is, at present, not playing at a level of a starter. Too often, Turner is a non-factor when chasing down the passer and someone who offers very little against the run.
Minnesota doesn’t have a great replacement, though. EDGE1 Jonathan Greenard is a tremendous player, someone who plays with fantastic effort and ruggedness, making it easy to see why he’s regarded as one of the Vikings’ foremost leaders. Andrew Van Ginkel is a superb athlete who is coming off an All Pro season, but he has been absent due to his neck injury. The turn has been to Turner, chosen at No. 17 in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Otherwise, Minnesota is working with solid depth pieces who are largely unproven.
The other edge rushers are UDFAs Bo Richter (a sophomore on the active roster) and Gabriel Murphy (a sophomore on the practice squad). Chaz Chambliss and Tyler Batty are UDFA adds operating within their rookie seasons. They, too, can earn snaps at edge rusher, but leaning on either as a starter is misguided.
How have the Vikings responded? Well, one way has been to shuffle around the ‘backers, thrusting Wilson up to the d-line soak up more snaps as a pass rusher.
Dallas Turner Snaps & Starts in 2025
| Week | Start & Snaps |
| 1 | No, 29 Snaps |
| 2 | Yes, 60 Snaps |
| 3 | Yes, 34 Snaps |
| 4 | Yes, 53 Snaps |
| 5 | Yes, 65 Snaps |
| 7 | Yes, 30 Snaps |
| 8 | No, 53 Snaps |
Keep in mind, as well, what the Vikings didn’t do back in March. Neither of Patrick Jones nor Jihad Ward — veteran edge rushers who earned beefier playing time for the 2024 Minnesota Vikings — were retained. In effect, Dallas Turner saw basically all roadblocks cleared out of his way to earn significant playing time in 2025.
There have been some strong moments, but Turner has largely failed to make the most of his opportunity, so much so that Coach Flores shifted to a three-linebacker look to begin the pivotal Thursday Night Football game.
Dallas Turner did end up playing quite a lot in the most recent game, but he didn’t make a notable difference. In fact, one could argue that he played poor football.
On a team level, the Vikings’ defense played horrendous football. Justin Herbert finished off his day having gone 18/25 for 227 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. There was then 7 carries for 62 yards on the ground. Kimani Vidal, the third-string runner for the Chargers, turned 23 carries into 117 rushing yards and a score. Not all of that is Turner (obviously) but he was on the field for 53 plays.
The folks over at PFF give him a very poor 38.9 grade for his effort in Week 8. Within a poor season, that’s a season-low grade. Dallas Turner, in short, needed to play better.
The long-and-strong edge rusher hasn’t seen the final chapter written in his story. Far from it, in fact. But while patience is needed for a 22-year-old sophomore, the Vikings are swirling through a season that began with dreams of playoff success while (quite possibly) being on the verge of selling off veteran talent before the NFL trade deadline.
More is needed from these Vikings, and Dallas Turner is among them. We’ll see if he cracks the starting lineup in Week 9 when the Vikings take on the Lions at Ford Field.
