Vikings Sign QB David Blough, WR Travis Toivonen to Practice Squad
The Vikings are signing former Lions quarterback David Blough to their practice squad to serve as their No. 3 option at QB, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Blough will sit behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens on the depth chart, and will likely only be needed on the active roster if one of the two has to miss time. The Vikings needed a third QB for depth and insurance after Kellen Mond was claimed off waivers by the Browns and Sean Mannion signed with the Seahawks' practice squad.
Blough has more regular season experience than Mannion and Mond combined. He started five games for the Lions in 2019, going 0-5 with four touchdowns and six interceptions. His best game came in his NFL debut against the Bears, when he threw for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick in a 24-20 loss. One of those five starts came against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Blough hasn't seen regular season action since late in the 2020 season, when he went 6 for 10 for 49 yards and a pick in mop-up duty during a blowout loss against the Buccaneers.
This offseason, Blough competed with Tim Boyle to be the Lions' backup behind Jared Goff. He went 51 of 82 for 377 yards, two TDs, a pick, and a fumble during the preseason. Ultimately, Detroit decided to take the same approach as the Vikings approach and go with neither one. They waived Boyle and Blough and signed Nate Sudfeld to be their backup instead, just like the Vikings moved on from Mond and Mannion and traded for Mullens.
Prior to his NFL career, Blough threw for nearly 10,000 yards across four years at Purdue, although he had a fairly poor 69-to-43 TD/INT ratio.
Blough has been pretty heavily featured on this season of Hard Knocks. Anyone who's been watching can likely attest that he comes across as a good person who really cares about the game and his teammates. His wife, Melissa Gonzalez, competed in last year's Tokyo Olympics as a hurdler, and there's a great viral video of Blough cheering her on while watching with some Lions teammates in a meeting room.
He should be a solid addition to the Vikings' quarterback room, although Minnesota will be hoping he never has to take a snap this season.
The Vikings also signed wide receiver Travis Toivonen to their practice squad. He's a Red Wing, MN native who played his college ball at North Dakota and has spent time with the Seahawks and Giants. Toivonen is a big, long receiver at 6'4", 212 pounds.
Blough and Toivonen join former Eagles and Cardinals cornerback Tay Gowan as new additions to the practice squad. The Gowan signing was made official on Thursday. In addition to the 12 returning Vikings on the P.S., that's 15 spots filled out of 16.
Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.
