Dean Lowry signed with the Vikings this offseason and has been a starter up front, but the veteran defensive lineman will be out of the picture for a while. For the second straight year, the former ironman will head to IR.
A pectoral injury sustained Sunday night will lead Lowry to surgery, Kevin O’Connell said Monday. The Vikings will bring offensive lineman Chris Reed off their reserve/NFI list to fill Lowry’s roster spot, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert tweets.
This injury will require surgery, according to O’Connell, pointing to the eighth-year veteran being shut down for the season. That is not confirmed just yet, but pectoral tears generally produce such an outcome — especially those sustained during the second half of a season. Lowry is in the first season of a two-year, $8.5MM contract.
A longtime Packers starter, Lowry had played in 101 straight regular-season games before a Christmas Eve injury last year. The Packers placed Lowry on IR ahead of Week 17, ending his Green Bay tenure. The team had drafted Devonte Wyatt in the 2022 first round, and the Georgia product ended up replacing Lowry. Minnesota gave the former fourth-round pick another opportunity, and Lowry had both started and worked as a rotational D-line presence in Brian Flores‘ defense.
In his second year with the Vikings, Reed has not played this season. Minnesota parked the veteran interior O-lineman on its NFI list in July and moved him to the reserve edition a month later. A Minnesota State alum, Reed played in seven games as a backup last season. The 31-year-old blocker restructured his contract twice this offseason; the former Colts spot starter started in Week 18 for the Vikes last season, filling in for center Garrett Bradbury.
Minnesota has used Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard more frequently than Lowry up front this season. Lowry had played 237 defensive snaps for his new NFC North employer. The Vikings have Khyiris Tonga and Jaquelin Roy as backup options but will undoubtedly add to their D-line corps before their Week 12 game.