Vikings bring back veteran guard Dalton Risner

Guard Dalton Risner said after last season he wanted to be back in Minnesota for another year. He’d posted messages to the same effect on social media all offseason. On Wednesday, he got his wish.

Risner agreed to a one-year deal with the Vikings, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, returning to the team for a second season after he’d started 11 games a year ago. The Vikings had talked with Risner throughout the offseason about the possibility of a return, but the sides had yet to find common ground on a contract. A week before the team’s mandatory minicamp, though, the Vikings got a deal done with Risner.

The team had re-signed Blake Brandel to a three-year deal this offseason, and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips had said Brandel earned the opportunity to start this season. Brandel was absent from Wednesday’s organized team activities for personal reasons, but center Garrett Bradbury said Brandel “is still the starter” at left guard and Risner is coming in as a backup.

If Risner returns to his starting left guard spot and Ed Ingram remains at right guard, the Vikings would have the same five offensive linemen they did last year.

Risner, who turns 29 in July, first visited the Vikings during training camp a year ago, but didn’t agree to a deal with the team until September. He took over as the left guard starter when Ezra Cleveland suffered a foot injury in October, and retained the job when the team dealt Cleveland to Jacksonville at the trade deadline.