DENVER — Dalton Risner learned so many tough lessons since he played his last game for the Broncos last season, and he appears grateful for all of them.
One new thing he learned: Life on the back end of the depth chart, temporary as it was.
“There was some really hard days when I first showed up here,’’ Risner, who is now the starting left guard for the Minnesota Vikings, said in an interview this week with 9NEWS. “I was given, 'Look squad (scout team).' Something I didn’t ever do in the first four years of my NFL career. The first four weeks here I had to do whatever I could to show these guys, hey, I’m here to help this team win. But I’m also here because I want to be on this field, and it’s just crazy to see how it ended up.”
Even though he is playing for the Broncos’ opponent this Sunday night (6:20 kickoff, 9NEWS), Risner accepted an invitation to become a guest on the Broncos Huddle, the show he hosted as a starting player with personality the previous three years.
“It’s great to be back on,’’ he said. “It’s weird to be back on as a guest and not someone who’s on there every week, but I sure am grateful to be back on here. Thank you for having me and ‘hi’ to everyone back there in Colorado.”
A Broncos fan growing up up the interstate in the farmlands of Wiggins, Risner played out a dream when he was Denver’s second-round draft pick out of Kansas State in 2019 and started 62 of a possible 66 games at left guard his previous four seasons.
He became a free agent after last year, and while he would have preferred to stay a Bronco for life, that wasn’t an option.
It took him a while – much longer than he or anyone else thought it would – but two games into the regular season he reunited with former Broncos coaches Chris Kuper and Justin Rascati, who are the offensive line coaches in Minnesota.
“Oh, it was very frustrating. It was probably one of the toughest times in my life,’’ Risner said. “Not just for football but a lot of reasons. It was one of those deals where you live and you learn. You learn how to handle different situations and you wished things had worked out a different way, but part of life, and what I’ve learned, is embracing the journey and I’m grateful to be where I’m at.
“I could look back and say I wish it could have went this way, whether it was stay in Denver or sign a big deal to another team or sign a big deal with the Vikings. This is the journey I’m on. I’m a kid from Wiggins, Colorado who was eating chicken fingers in section 542 [at Invesco Field at Mile High] watching Broncos games, and now I’m in my fifth year in the NFL and I’m a starter for the fifth year in a row. I’m just very grateful for it. I’m embracing my journey and despite how hard it was I think the most important thing was everything I learned from it. And I did learn a lot from it.”
The free-agent market for left guards didn’t go as planned. The Broncos signed Ben Powers for $13 million a year, but then it dropped off to $8 million per for new Steeler Isaac Seumalo, leaving Risner to fall through the free-agent cracks. But as they say in the industry, Risner made a nice save by signing a one-year deal worth up to $4 million with the Vikings.
Kuper, a former Broncos standout guard, was Denver’s assistant offensive line coach to Mike Munchak during Risner’s first three years, and then moved on to the Vikings, where he became the head offensive line coach for head coach Kevin O’Connell. Kuper brought Rascati with him from Denver to be his assistant. Kuper no doubt had influence in bringing in Risner, who has been spotted hustling to make a couple impressive downfield blocks.
“I had a visit with another team scheduled two days after I signed with the Minnesota Vikings,’’ Risner said. “The visit I was going to go on I probably was going to get a better deal, but I remember talking to my agent, Andy Kabat, and I said we will go to the Minnesota Vikings for less. They have a wild card in Chris Kuper and Justin Rascati and [offensive coordinator] Wes Phillips and Kevin O’Connell. This is where I wanted to be.
“I feel valued here. I feel like the fan base, the coaches and the organization, I feel like they love what Dalton Risner’s about and it brings a smile to my face. I’m an old-school guy, man. I may not look pretty all the time but I’m going to do my best to empty the tank.”
He had to be patient, though, upon arriving in Minnesota. To begin, he needed a couple weeks to get in playing shape and learn the playbook. He also saw the Vikings already had their starting guards established with Ezra Cleveland, a second-round pick in 2020, on the left side and Ed Ingram, a second-round pick in 2022, on the right.
Risner, again a second-round pick from 2019, found himself standing in the second row during practice when he wasn’t running scout-team plays for the Vikings’ defense.
“You never know at that point in the season, especially for a guy like me that has never gone through this process before,’’ Risner said. “All I’ve ever known is to go through OTAs and training camp with the Broncos and being drafted there to now I’m showing up with a team in September and they signed me to a deal, but it’s not a two-, three-year, huge extension deal. This is a one-year deal, so the question was, Why did they bring me in? Was it for depth? Was it to be their guy?
“What I did was I went to work. I put my head down which is all I know how to do. And I let it be in God’s hands.’’
Late in the Vikings’ sixth game against the Bears, Cleveland suffered a foot injury that caused him to miss the next two games, the first of which was a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. Risner got his first start in a 22-17 win. The Vikings then beat the Packers in Green Bay, a game in which their star quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.
Two days later, at the Halloween trade deadline, the Vikings traded Cleveland to Jacksonville. Risner became the Vikings’ unquestioned starting left guard.
“I don’t want to say it’s my job because it’s the NFL and you’ve got to do everything you can to keep your job every week,’’ Risner said. “But it almost brings me to tears. Because this was never my plan. I don’t get to plan my way. The Lord had this established.’’
When Cousins went down, it seemed the Vikings were doomed. Yet, they traded for journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs, who has been nothing short of a football miracle. In the Vikings’ next game, at Atlanta, Dobbs came off the bench in the second quarter and without a full practice with his new team, led visiting Minnesota to victory thanks to two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead, game-winner with 22 seconds left. Dobbs was outstanding again last week in a win against the Saints.
“Josh is incredible,’’ Risner said. “I’m going to say this wrong, but I’m pretty sure he’s like -- not an astronaut but just very intelligent, let’s just say that. I know he had something to do with NASA.’’
Dobbs received his aerospace engineering degree from Tennessee and interned at NASA.
“And I always tell this story: When we were in Atlanta, everyone thinks the way it ended everything was perfect,’’ Risner said. “Our first few drives with Josh in there – we had never worked a snap count with the guy. Never ran one play with the guy. I think the first few snaps there might have been a [sack safety]. There might have been a strip sack or a fumble. It was really, really tough.
“And the way he acted in those times was the same way he acted when he drove us down the field to beat the Falcons. The guy is just so calm, cool and collected. I don’t know if that comes from who he is or how intelligent he is. […] I share that story because he’s very impressive. I love blocking for him. He not only does a great job through the air but makes a lot of plays on his feet as well. We proved we could win games with him. It wasn’t a fluke in Atlanta. We won again this last weekend [against the Saints] and we just need to get another one.”
The next one is Sunday night against the Broncos. His former team.
“I’m very excited. I’ve heard different things from different people, like how are you feeling? Is this a revenge game?’’ Risner said. “And I’m like, laughing -- Man, I get to go back and play at Empower stadium. I get to see the Outlaw, Josey Jewell. Justin Simmons, Russell Wilson. I’m grateful to go back there, man.
“I will always love the Denver Broncos. You saw everything last week with Von [Miller, a Buffalo outside linebacker] and I did not have the imprint or career that Von had in Denver. At the same time I loved Denver like Von did. And I’m grateful for my time there. I accomplished a lot in Denver. I started 62 games there. There were a lot of highs and lows. Of course I’m coming there with a different team and we’re coming there to get a win and I want to win this football game. Both teams want to win this football game.
“But other than that it’s just another business trip. I just get to go back home and see more familiar faces and the real question is, Am I going to get booed or am I going to get the claps and hellos when I walk in there? I don’t know what to expect.”
Probably a little of both. The Vikings improbably are 6-4 despite their 0-3 start and despite losing Cousins. The Broncos improbably are 4-5 despite their 1-5 start and despite giving up 70 points in a 50-point loss at Miami in Week 3.
“It’s not the same defense,’’ Risner said of the Broncos. “These guys are playing great ball. Justin Simmons always finds a way to be around the dang football. Pat Surtain is Pat Surtain. I tell ya what, Ja’Quan – oh my gosh, he is playing some football. McMillian is playing some football. I’ve got a lot of respect for him from watching tape.
“Mike Purcell and D.J. Jones in the interior are playing really, really good football. Zach Allen is coming alive. He has relentless effort. Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto, they’re athleticism on the edge, and the Outlaw on the interior with [Alex] Singleton, those guys running around – even though we’re playing them this weekend I have a lot of respect for these guys and I’ve got to give them credit where it’s due. They’re playing really good football.
“This defense, the way they played against the Packers, the Chiefs and the Bills, it’s no question why they’ve been winning football games.”
There will be a large group of family and friends from Wiggins coming to the game, just as they regularly did the previous four years. He is aware of who’s coming, but his guests all know how to get to the game without his help.
“I’ve tried to stay away from the whole ticket deal and passes. I’m coming in there, I want to win a football game,’’ Risner said. “I want to soak it up playing back at Empower Field. It’s going to be crazy to have a different color jersey on. But there is going to be a huge crew. Of course my brothers and my wife and her family and my mom is going to be there, so yeah there’s a lot of people that are going to be there. Postgame I think I’ll be able to let loose a little bit and enjoy seeing everybody.”
Risner then signed off on the show that was his show the previous three years.
“Do me a favor don’t forget about me boys, 9NEWS,’’ he said. “Maybe here in five, six years I can be your protégé and get a job and hang out there back in Denver. Orange and blue will always be in my veins. I got purple in my veins now, too, but that’s OK. I’m grateful to come back home and go to war on Sunday night. It’s going to be fun.”
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