Even if the Vikings won't admit it, an upgrade at guard is what they need

In the Netflix documentary "Quarterback," one of the prevailing story lines is the physical abuse Kirk Cousins had to withstand in 2022 with the Vikings.

No quarterback took more hits on passing plays a season ago, and the documentary is peppered with images and sounds of Cousins wincing and groaning — as well as examples of what he does between games in order to absorb the same pounding a week later.

While the dominant sentiment after watching all this is that Cousins, who has never missed a game due to injury in his eight seasons as a full-time starter, is one tough customer, there is an underlying message: Quarterback hits often are the direct result of inconsistent pass protection, and the 2022 Vikings offensive line certainly qualified as such.

Protection often broke down on the interior of the line, with center Garrett Bradbury susceptible to large and powerful tackles while guards Ezra Cleveland and rookie Ed Ingram combined to give up — per Pro Football Focus — 111 pressures and 38 quarterback hits.

That surely fueled a free agent visit this week from steady veteran Dalton Risner, though he left after a tour of TCO Performance Center without signing a deal. And as I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast, it leaves the Vikings in an awkward position.

Bringing in a free agent for a visit this late in the offseason is an obvious sign that a team doesn't feel great about its options.

But Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell can't exactly say that because what if Risner doesn't sign and the existing options end up being the plan. Instead, O'Connell has to say things like this about his guards:

"We've got great competition already at that particular position and are still seeing daily growth," he said Tuesday. "This was purely about taking something that we feel is pretty strong and investigating the possibility of making it even better."

Sure. A salary cap-strapped team with multiple needs is always looking to add starter-caliber veterans if it already feels set at that spot.

Risner, for his part, is not a star. But he is an upgrade, particularly in pass protection. He allowed just 29 pressures and six QB hits last year in Denver, numbers that are respectively one-half and one-third the numbers Ingram allowed last year.

If the idea is to keep Cousins smiling instead of grimacing after completions, and the Vikings can find some room in their salary structure, signing Risner should be a no-brainer.

Here are four other things to know today:

*The Twins are getting roasted by fans on social media for their inactivity at the trade deadline. As I wrote Tuesday, Derek Falvey's trade deadline history is mixed, and the Twins during his tenure have tended to fare better as sellers instead of buyers. But they still could come to regret not adding a right-handed hitter or established reliever.

*Maybe the answer is to make Matt Wallner a two-way player? The Twins outfielder and former pitcher uncorked a throw that exceeded 100 mph in Tuesday's win.

*Whatever you think of the Twins, at least they aren't the Mets.

*This Iowa State gambling story is wild.