Vikings Signing Veteran TE Colin Thompson

The Vikings have filled one of the two open spots on their 90-man roster. They're signing veteran tight end Colin Thompson, according to insider Jordan Schultz.

Thompson, 29, has had quite the football journey. The Philadelphia native spent two seasons at Florida and three at Temple in college, catching 19 total passes for the Owls from 2014-16. He went undrafted in 2017 and signed with the Giants, but was waived that August. Thompson then signed with the Bears' practice squad and spent the 2018 offseason in Chicago.

In 2019, it seemed like Thompson's playing career was on its last legs; he signed with the Birmingham Iron of the AAF and also began working in sports media. He then joined the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL until the coronavirus pandemic ended that league.

Things picked back up for Thompson in 2020 when he signed with the Panthers, who were coached by Matt Rhule, his former coach at Temple. He spent the last three seasons with Carolina. Thompson was on the practice squad for much of that time, but he did play a total of 285 offensive snaps and 231 special teams snaps between 2020 and '21. He has one career regular season reception, a seven-yard touchdown catch against the Buccaneers in November 2020.

The Vikings had room for another tight end due to Ben Ellefson's retirement earlier this offseason. Thompson joins T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, and rookie Ben Sims in that room for training camp.

The roster spot was opened up when cornerback John Reid was waived last week. There's still one spot open due to international player Junior Aho having a roster exemption.

Training camp begins on Tuesday.

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