Former Vikings WR Dan Chisena Signs Reserve/Futures Deal With Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Vikings wide receiver Dan Chisena to a reserve/futures contract, they announced on Monday. 

Chisena, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and attended Penn State, is back in his home state after three seasons in Minnesota.

All players on practice squads have their contracts expire at the end of the season. That's why reserve/futures deals exist. The Vikings recently signed roughly half of their practice squad to such deals and also brought in edge rusher Curtis Weaver, who was last with the Browns. They've now lost Kyle Hinton, Myles Dorn, and Chisena to reserve/futures deals with other teams. The rest of the Vikings' 2022 practice squad — players like Josh Rosen and Parry Nickerson — are free agents.

Chisena was primarily a track star at Penn State, catching just three passes during his senior year on the football team. Still, his speed and size got the attention of the Vikings, and he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Chisena then beat the odds and made the 53-man roster out of training camp. He finished second on the team as a rookie with 255 special teams snaps and had a fumble recovery against the Texans.

In 2021, Chisena again made the initial roster, although he was quickly placed on injured reserve. He returned in October and ended up playing 212 special teams snaps during that season. He spent most of this season on the practice squad, appearing in just two games on special teams.

Chisena has legit 4.3 speed at 6'3", 200 pounds. He was always fun to watch as a gunner on punts and kickoffs because you knew it was going to be an adventure. Chisena would fly down the field, but his tackling left quite a bit to be desired. During his time with the Vikings, he was charged with more missed tackles (13) than tackles (11).

Although he sometimes showed flashes of upside as a receiver during training camp practices, Chisena never played an offensive snap as a Viking. He turns 26 in February and will look to carve out a role on special teams with the Steelers.