Among the wave of roster moves that got the Vikings down to their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, fullback C.J. Ham was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return. Ham, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, will first be eligible to return in Week 5.
Ham, 32, is the Vikings’ second longest-tenured player, behind only Harrison Smith. The Duluth native and former Augustana standout has stuck around for nearly a full decade, under two different regimes, after getting in the door as an undrafted rookie tryout player in 2016. During that time, he’s made two Pro Bowls and become one of the better players at a fullback position that many teams around the league hardly utilize.
Ham’s role in Kevin O’Connell’s offense is somewhat narrow, but it’s important nonetheless. He played 261 offensive snaps last year during the regular season, which was his highest total since 2021. He was a blocker on 178 of those and had just seven touches all season.
The fan favorite Ham is also a special teams captain and one of the Vikings’ best, most versatile players in that phase of the game. He played 281 special teams snaps last year and has been over 200 in all eight seasons since he debuted in 2017.
For now, Ham going on IR meant the Vikings kept both Zavier Scott and Ty Chandler in the running back room behind Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. It’ll be interesting to see if they add a fullback, move a player to that position, or simply operate without one during Ham’s absence.
The Vikings also placed rookie outside linebacker Tyler Batty on IR with a return designation. He’s dealing with a right knee injury. Ham and Batty are two of the maximum eight IR placements with return designations that the Vikings can use this season.
Additionally, wide receiver Jordan Addison went on the reserve/suspended list and rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back) went on the reserve/PUP list. Bartholomew, a sixth-round pick out of Pitt, has to miss at least the first four games of the season, but it sounds like he might miss the entire thing.