The Vikings are only a few days into 2026 training camp, but tight end Gavin Bartholomew is already making noise in a spot where he badly needed a fast start.
That matters because Minnesota’s roster picture will start getting sharper soon, and every fringe player has a short window to show he belongs. For Bartholomew, the pressure is obvious.
He was the Vikings’ 2025 sixth-round pick, then missed his entire rookie season with a back injury. For a late-round tight end trying to carve out a role, that kind of lost year can bury a player before he ever gets going.
Instead, Bartholomew has apparently come out of the gate looking like someone determined to change the conversation.
On Wednesday, Bring Me The Sports’ Will Ragatz reported that Bartholomew connected on a pass from J.J. McCarthy “over the middle in 7s,” then added another catch in 11-on-11 work. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis was just as upbeat, writing that “Bartholomew looked really good” and “moved well” during practice.
Semi-random Vikings camp takeaway, but I thought TE Gavin Bartholomew looked really good. Made two impressive over the middle catches.
Moved well. First time really seeing him out there after back injury happened last year.
That’s not enough to crown anybody in July, but it is exactly the kind of early flash Bartholomew needed after spending his rookie season on the shelf. If nothing else, he’s giving the Vikings something to consider instead of forcing them to wonder whether the injury wiped out his chance before it started.
The path to a roster spot is still narrow. T.J.
Hockenson and Josh Oliver are set as the top two tight ends, which leaves Bartholomew fighting for the TE3 job. His competition includes Ben Yurosek, Marshall Lang and Bryson Nesbit.
Bartholomew’s college résumé at Pittsburgh gives him a case. He was a captain for the Panthers and finished with 105 catches, 1,257 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns across 50 games.
His best season came in 2024, when he set a personal high with 38 receptions. He also showed some promise as a blocker that year, posting a career-best 52.7 run-block grade on Pro Football Focus.
The other names in the mix bring their own arguments. Yurosek is entering Year 2 after catching two passes for 14 yards in 12 games, including one start, as a rookie.
He also posted PFF grades of 62.6 in run protection and 79.6 in pass protection. Lang is still trying to make his NFL debut after moving between the Patriots’ and Seahawks’ practice squads during the 2025 season.
Nesbit, who went undrafted last year, spent the full season on Minnesota’s practice squad, so he at least has familiarity on his side.
Bartholomew still doesn’t have an NFL résumé to lean on, which means the work has to keep showing up on the practice field. But if Wednesday was any indication, the second-year tight end is at least giving himself a real shot to stay in the mix for the Vikings’ 53-man roster.
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