Report: Vikings to put G Dalton Risner on IR

The Minnesota Vikings announced their first wave of roster cuts on Monday, a day before teams must have their 53-man rosters set. In addition to cutting those 14 players, it appears the club has made a decision on another notable player.

Related: Vikings part with 14 players in first wave of cuts before deadline

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Vikings are planning to put veteran guard Dalton Risner on injured reserve and designate him to return after four weeks. That’d be notable for a couple reasons.

First, Risner was expected to compete for a starting guard spot after starting the final 11 games of the season for Minnesota last season. However, Risner has been sidelined by injury for the past few weeks and didn’t appear in any preseason games.

Right guard Ed Ingram struggled in preseason. If that continues into the regular season, Risner could possibly take over for him when he returns.

It’s also noteworthy because if Risner is put on IR and designated to return, that would be the second and final slot the Vikings would have to allow someone to return during the season, as tight end T.J. Hockenson is already taking up one. That means other bubble players like edge Gabriel Murphy or tight end Robert Tonyan wouldn’t be eligible to be placed on IR and return this season.

The Vikings have plenty of tough decisions to make over the next 24 hours. We’ll see if Risner is ultimately designated to return or not on Tuesday.

Related: Vikings roster projection: McGlothern and Hall in, Evans and Risner out