Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings receiver Rondale Moore dies at age 25

Episode Date: February 22, 2026

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Welcome into Purple Insider, Matthew Collar here, and coming to you with some truly devastating news that Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, Rondale Moore, has passed away at the age of 25. And I will share some details that have been released so far eventually in the video. So if you don't want to hear that, it could be disturbing. You might want to shut the video off. I'll get you the statement from the Vikings, some thoughts of my own. I sat down with Rondale last summer before he got hurt. And I wanted to share you a few things that he said to me and that were said about him by Keenan McCartell, the Vikings wide receiver coach. But let's get right to the statement from the Vikings.

They said, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Rondale Moore while we are working to understand the facts we have spoken to Rondale's family to offer our condolences and the full support of the Minnesota Vikings. We have also been in communication with our. players, coaches, and staff, and will make counseling and emotional support resources available to anyone in need. Our thoughts are with Rondale's family and friends during this devastating time. They also released a statement from Kevin O'Connell. He said, quote, I am devastated by the news of Rondale's death. While Rondale had been a member of the Vikings for a short time, he was someone that we came to know well and care about deeply. He was a humble, soft-spoken, and respectful young man who was proud of his Indiana roots. As a player, he was disciplined, dedicated, and resilient

despite facing adversity multiple times as injuries sidelined him throughout his career. We are all heartbroken by the fact that he won't continue to live out his NFL dream and we won't have a chance to watch him flourish. My prayers are with Rondale's family, friends, and teammates and coaches as we all deal with this tragic news. That from the Vikings on the passing of Rondale. Moore. I wanted to say that this is not just a heartbreaking loss for the Minnesota Vikings. This is also heartbreaking for all of football. He has teammates all over the NFL. A lot of them have shared messages already about Rondale Moore. And it was the loss of someone who was revered as one of the most exciting football players that we had seen. I mean, his career at Purdue,

do was legendary. He was an incredible athlete, one of the most exciting players. And when he got to the NFL, I mean, you recall in 2021, his touchdown against the Vikings, how exciting Rondell Moore could be. And he went through all of those injuries and all of that adversity through his time in the NFL. And when I sat down with him last year, he was very, very hopeful. I talked to him just a few days before the preseason game where he ultimately ended up getting hurt again. And he was very positive about recovering from the injury that he had had with the Atlanta Falcons, which was also an incredibly difficult injury, but he had fought back from that. And I remember feeling so gutted for him when he got hurt on that punt return because he was so excited about coming back.

and his attitude had been so good about returning. And I'm just going to read you something that he told me. Before that game, during training camp, we just had a regular after practice conversation like I would do with any other athlete. And he said, as a player, you never want to be hurt and on the couch. But unfortunate things happened. And I had time to reconsider a lot of things, work on my body, get healthy, and learn some football. It sucked with the.

rehab process and not being able to play going into my contract year. But I'm grateful to be in Minnesota, being able to see it from a different perspective, almost the outside looking in and even the small tedious things that you don't necessarily pay attention to when you're on the field. I got a chance to see everything, even things like body language. So he was talking about trying to make the best of a really bad situation coming off of when he was in Atlanta. And I think that spoke to just what it meant to him to be in Minnesota.

with a potential opportunity. And when I talked to Kenan McArdle about him, the quote that stuck out to me was he said, I think he's tough as nails. And I agree with that. A guy who had gone through as much as he had gone through to continue to come back and play time and time again and give it another shot as he was with the Vikings,

I agree. I think he was also tough as nails. And you certainly do not get to the NFL and battle the way that Rondale Moore did at his size, even as a creative and athlete as he was, without having a huge, huge heart and without being incredibly tough. And I believe that's what people will remember him by not only knowing him and his personality and humble is a great word to describe Rondale Moore

from my experience with him, incredibly positive as well, somebody that did not look at their injury as, something that had set them back, but is something that they could use to grow on. I think that attitude was recognized by everyone within the Vikings organization. So I was absolutely crushed when he got hurt again, having just talked to him a few days before that, I will not forget seeing him get hurt on the sideline. And it was a preseason game. There wasn't a whole lot of noise in the stadium. You could hear his frustration from all the way up in the press box.

And I remember just being so hurt for him because I knew what it meant to be back on the football field and how badly he had wanted that and how hard he had worked for it. So I'm feeling heartbroken now for his family, for the Minnesota Vikings, for all of his teammates, for all of the people who cared about Rondale Moore that are now hurting very, very much. right now today. And this Vikings organization has been through so much. Kyrie Jackson passing away in 2024 in the summer. I think about how Keenan McCartle, his wide receivers coach,

was so excited to have Ron Dale and got to know him. It was so impressed by him and his attitude and how much he wanted to be out there. And now, you know, thinking of Keenan McArdle and how much this must hurt for him, the wide receiver room, all of his teammates. Matt Daniels on the special team side. And the same story, Matt Daniels was telling me that Rondale Moore was knocking on his door every single day talking about part returning. And it just shows you how much it meant to him to be out there.

So the deepest condolences for me to all of his former teammates, all of the current Minnesota Vikings who played with Rondale Moore. And I know he didn't have a Vikings career because of that injury. but people get to know him over a summer. You sign in the summertime and they spend every single day with you inside of the wide receiver room, inside of the special teams room, and they get to know you on a personal level. And I am certain that that happened with many people, Kevin O'Connell, but beyond even just

his room inside the Minnesota Vikings organization. So I'm going to share the details here. And again, if you want to turn off the video now, if you might be upset by the details, but this is important to share. According to New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey, Rondale Moore was found deceased with a suspected, self-inflicted gunshot wound in the garage of a property in New Albany, Indiana. Absolutely terrible.

Absolutely awful. And I want to say if anyone watching this is having thoughts of self-harm, please, please get help. Please seek help. The suicide and crisis lifeline, you can reach that by dialing 988. You could also text home to 741-741 for the crisis text line. Just want to make sure we take any lesson from a tragedy that we can. And if there is a lesson. It's let people know. Check on people. Make sure your friends are doing okay. And if they're not, advise them to reach out and try to get help. I know the next couple of weeks, there's just going to be a lot. You know, we're going to talk a lot of free agency. We're going to talk a lot of draft and everything else.

But Rondale Moore, especially with the draft as a player who was at, Purdue as exciting as any college player has ever been. Remember the night against Minnesota, the game in 2018 against Ohio State. There's so many memories of Rondale Moore as a football player. He is going to be greatly missed. And I also wanted to share a couple of tweets. Jonathan Grinard clearly shocked, tweeted, bro, what in the world? Come on, Rondale. He was going to come back and prove them all wrong. JJ Watt, his former teammate, tweeted, I can't begin to fathom or process this.

There's just no way. Way too soon, way too special. So much to give. Rest in peace, Rondale. And Jeff Brom, who coached him at Purdue, said Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach, the ultimate competitor that wouldn't back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone,

a great teammate who would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale. We loved his smile and his competitive edge that he always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with. We offer our thoughts and prayers to Rondale and his family, and we love him very much. Rondale Moore. 25 years old, we will have him on our mind going forward.

You just do not know what people are dealing with. sometimes. And hopefully his passing encourages some who are struggling to try to get help. So again, the Minnesota Vikings organization is hit by another tragedy here with Rondell Moore passing away.

And again, my deepest condolences to everyone involved. Thanks, everybody.