Tonyan had a brief moment of being a fantasy-relevant tight end while he was a member of the Packers, but he’s become a roster afterthought over the last few years. He’ll be behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray — with a few others competing with Tonyan — to open the 2025 campaign.

Tonyan was a relatively surprising cut by the Vikings on Tuesday, but they’re able to keep the 30-year-old tight end in the organization. He could be active on game days especially with TJ Hockenson (knee) unavailable, but his days of fantasy significance are likely over.

Tonyan was thought to have had a strong shot at making the Vikings’ roster, with T.J. Hockenson (knee) opening the year on injured reserve. Tonyan surprised in 2020 when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 scores, but was limited to just five games in 2021 due to injury. He’s caught 64 passes for 582 yards and two scores over the last two seasons and was relegated to a backup role last season with the Bears. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him catch on with another team in the coming days.

O’Connell stopped short of declaring an expected return-to-play date before saying the team wants Tonyan to “take part” in preseason play. Vikings coaches were undoubtedly hoping one of their veteran tight ends would establish himself as an early-season replacement for recovering starter T.J. Hockenson (ACL and MCL). Tonyan’s back issue leaves the team with Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt for now. Both players respectably averaged 1.50 yards per route run last year while earning 18.0-plus-percent target rates. The competition’s winner could have streaming viability in September.