• Native of Parkston, SD, grew up near former Vikings LB Chad Greenway's hometown and signed with the team as a free agent just days after Greenway's retirement.
• Has been a part of playoff teams in 4 of the past 6 seasons between Detroit (2014, 2016) and Minnesota (2017, 2019), starting all 4 postseason games for the Vikings in that span.
• Helped 2019 Vikings offense produce a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver for the 1st time since the 2009 season.
• Avid outdoorsman, enjoys hunting and fishing in all 4 seasons.
• Majored in interdepartmental studies at Iowa.
• Younger brother, Brady, was a defensive lineman at Iowa.
• Standout wrestler with 3 South Dakota state titles under his belt and a 121-1 record, was recruited for wrestling and football.
• In November 2019, helped pay for and give away 250 turkeys with other linemen at The Salvation Army-Citadel Worship and Service Center in St. Paul.
• Represented Pheasants Forever as his charity during My Cause, My Cleats game in 2019.
• Took part in 2nd annual Celebrity Walleye Classic fishing tournament hosted by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire in his home state of South Dakota to raise money to support their programs for local kids.
• Originally joined the Lions as the 23rd overall pick in the 2012 Draft, the 2nd OT selected that year.
• Acquired by the Vikings as a free agent from Detroit, the 1st player signed by the club when free agency opened on 3/9/17.
• Key part of an offensive line that gave up only 28 sacks in 2019, tied for 4th-fewest in the NFL and tied for the 6th-lowest mark in franchise history.
• Team allowed 0 sacks in 4 games and only 1 sack in 6 games.
• Vikings running game rebounded in 2019 with Dalvin Coook breaking the 1,000-yard mark and tied for 2nd in team history with 13 rushing TDs.
• Made 15 regular-season starts and 2 postseason starts at LT.
• Started at LT at Green Bay (9/15), blocking as Dalvin Cook rushed for a career-high 154 yards.
• Started his 100th career game vs. Oakland (9/22), blocking for an offense that rushed for 211 yards and did not allow a sack.
• Started at LT at the New York Giants (10/6) as Minnesota totaled 490 yards of offense.
• Started vs. Philadelphia (10/13) before exiting with injury.
• Started at LT at Detroit (10/20) as Minnesota posted 503 total yards of offense, the most since Minnesota racked up 558 total yards vs. Atlanta on 9/28/14, and scored 42 points, the most in a game since Minnesota scored 49 points vs. NY Giants (12/27/15). The offense also did not give up a sack.
• Started at LT vs. Washington (10/24) as the Vikings offense was not forced to punt for the first time since the 2004 season.
• Started at LT in the 27-24 comeback win vs. Denver (11/17) as team scored 27 2nd-half points after being down 20-0 at half.
• Inactive vs. Chicago (12/29) as Minnesota rested starters.
• Started at LT in the Divisional game at San Francisco (1/11/20) and the Wild Card win at New Orleans (1/5/20).
• Started all 13 games that he appeared in throughout the 2018 season, helping QB Kirk Cousins become the 1st player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards, 30 TDs, 10 or fewer INTs and post a 70.0% completion rate in a single season.
• Started at LT at Green Bay (9/16), protecting Kirk Cousins as he threw for 428 passing yards.
• Started at Philadelphia (10/7) but exited with a foot injury.
• Inactive Weeks 6-8 with a foot injury.
• Returned from injury to start at LT against Detroit (11/4).
• Played in his 100th career game vs. Green Bay (11/25).
• Started his 25th game as a Viking at LT at Seattle (12/10).
• Started at LT at Miami (12/16) as the offense put up a season- high 41 points and rushed for 220 yards.
• Started all 15 games he appeared in during his 1st season with the team, helping the Vikings finish 7th in rushing after finishing last in 2016 as team posted 13-3 regular season and appearance in the NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia.
• Started at LT vs. New Orleans (9/11) in his Vikings debut and paved the way for Vikings rookie RB Dalvin Cook to set the Vikings rookie record for rushing yards in their debut (127).
• Started in 1st game against his former team vs. Detroit (10/1).
• Started at LT vs. Cleveland (10/29) at Twickenham Stadium in London, England as a part of the NFL's International Series.
• Started at LT vs. LA Rams (11/19) and helped the Vikings tie the franchise record (since 1982) with a 5th game without allowing a sack.
• Started at LT at Detroit (11/23) on Thanksgiving Day.
• Inactive vs. Cincinnati (12/17).
• Started at LT vs. Chicago (12/31) as the Vikings clinched the 2nd-most wins in franchise history, going 13-3 in regular season.
• Started at LT as the Vikings defeated New Orleans (1/14/18) in the Divisional round on a 61-yard TD pass as time expired, the 1st time in NFL playoff history that a team has won on a TD as time expired in regulation.
• Started at LT at Philadelphia (1/21/18) in the NFC Championship Game.
• Started 14 games at RT, missing 2 regular-season contests and the Wild Card Playoff game.
• Helped Lions go 9-7 and finish runner-up in the NFC North.
• Lions had 8 comeback wins to set NFL record.
• Lions offense had #11 passing attack in the NFL and featured 5 players with 50+ catches, the 5th time the feat has been achieved in NFL history and the 1st time in Lions history.
• Helped QB Matthew Stafford pass 30,000 career passing yards in the fewest games in NFL history (109), breaking the mark of 114 held by Dan Marino and Kurt Warner.
• Started all 16 games at LT.
• Lions notched 7-9 mark on the season.
• Team ranked #9 in NFL in passing offense.
• Helped Stafford throw for 4,327 yards and 32 TDs, giving him a tie for 2nd-most TD passes in a season and trailing only his own club record of 41.
• Only Lions lineman to start every game during the season.
• Started all 15 games in which he appeared at LT.
• Helped Lions notch 11-5 mark to finish 2nd in NFC North and earn playoff berth.
• The 11 wins were the best by the club since 1991's 12-4 club.
• Playoff appearance was only the 2nd for the Lions since 1999.
• Lions posted the #12 passing offense in the NFL.
• Missed 1st game of his career in annual Thanksgiving Day match vs. Chicago (11/27).
• Lions offense had a pair of 1,000+ yard WRs with Golden Tate (1,331) and Calvin Johnson (1,077) while Stafford passed for 4,257 yards. Thanksgiving Day game in place of injured Jeff Backus.
• Returned a short kickoff for 10 yards at Green Bay (12/9).
• Started 37 of 39 career games for Hawkeyes.
• Named 1st-Team All-Big Ten as a senior, started all 13 games.
• Helped pave the way for Iowa's offense to churn out 403 yards of offense in FedEx Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech.
• Orange Bowl win was 1st major bowl win for team since 1959 Rose Bowl.
• Honored as South Dakota's Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Parkston High.
• Earned 1st-Team All-State 3 times, at DE as a sophomore and junior and at TE as a senior.
• Won 3 state wrestling titles and amassed a 121-1 record.
