Dalton Risner was at the neighborhood park in Pradera, Colo,, on Monday, his cleats puncturing the grass as he practiced pass sets while children climbed playground equipment nearby. This had been part of his routine for weeks, for far longer than he expected, while former teammates prepared for the regular season and the call for which Risner had waited never came.
He'd been a free agent for six months, after starting 62 games in his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos. Risner had heard from 16 teams, visited the Vikings' facility in August as part of his tour of prospective employers, responded to fans on social media pining for the team to sign him and posted workout videos he hoped would pique a NFL general manager's interest, but none of it produced the offer he was seeking.