Former Bears player calls out Chicago coaches at Vikings camp

Last offseason, the Chicago Bears signed former Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan to serve as their no. 2 to Cole Kmet. After just one season, Tonyan was allowed to leave Chicago without making much of a mark.

Just a little under a month ago, Tonyan found a new home, signing with a division rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Athletic's (subscription required) Alec Lewis wrote that the Vikings were "blown away" after working Tonyan out prior to signing him.

He has the chance to back up T.J. Hockenson, and from the looks of things, he's well on his way to carving out a role in Minnesota.

From the get-go during minicamp, Tonyan was reportedly one of the favorite targets for both J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold, which bodes well for the seventh-year pro. After one of the practice, Tonyan shed some light on his experience with the Bears in 2023.

Tonyan recently told The Athletic that the Bears misused him last year, noting 2023 being a challenging year: " (It was a) tough situation, going from playing 60 snaps a game to 10.”

Robert Tonyan is grasping at straws, in a way, but he was under-utilized with the Bears

It's understandable for Tonyan to be annoyed at how little he was used, but if we're being truthful, he played a total of 323 snaps last season, appearing in all 17 games. That's not quite 10 snaps per game. In fact, it's closer to twice that amount.

Regardless of how many snaps he did play in Chicago, Tonyan's tenure with the Bears will long be remembered by his would-be game-winning touchdown catch against the Browns. He couldn't have been more wide-open, yet dropped a sure thing.

We all remember.

Now, he's in Minnesota hoping to revive his career in a way. If he can revert to the form he once showed in Green Bay, he could be a valuable asset in the Vikings' passing game, especially when it comes to developing a young quarterback like McCarthy.

With the Bears in 2023, Tonyan recorded the fewest targets (17), receptions (11), receiving yards (112) and touchdowns (zero) he's tallied in the last four seasons.