Nothing says the Vikings’ quarterback talk is over for now more than some sportswriter suggesting it’s time to discuss the best available grunts at guard.
The Vikings’ QB shuffle is over for now. Let’s talk guards.
What’s left for the Vikings at a position that could use an upgrade, as usual?
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 12, 2024 at 10:36PM
In need of an NFL-caliber run game and a consistently clean pocket front, the Vikings could use an upgrade at the position, per usual. And the good ones are going quickly.
Seven of the league’s top guards -- each younger than 28 -- were gobbled up by other teams in the opening two days of the free agency negotiating period.
Carolina, the worst team in the league, targeted guard play as its biggest weakness, best path back to respectability and primary reason No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young looked nothing like No. 2 overall pick and Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud as a first-year QB in 2023. With their two biggest free agency swings, the Panthers guaranteed a whopping $89.2 million to former Dolphins guard Robert Hunt, 27, and former Seahawks guard Damien Lewis, 26.
Hunt will get $100 million over five years with $63 million guaranteed. Lewis will get $53 million over four years with $26.2 million guaranteed. Together, they will count $25.6 million against Carolina’s salary cap.
Meanwhile, the Rams also showed they, too, believe guards matter by sinking $66 million guaranteed into the position. After re-signing Kevin Dotson, the Rams looked to Detroit and poached from one of the league’s best lines when it agreed to give Jonah Jackson, 27, a three-year, $51 million deal with $34 million guaranteed.
The Packers also lost a top young guard when Jon Runyan, 26, agreed to move on to the Giants for $30 million over three years with $17 million guaranteed.
The Vikings, meanwhile, re-signed backup guard Blake Brandel, a promising overachiever who could surprise us one day as a regular NFL starter. The team also can re-sign 28-year-old Dalton Risner, who arrived after the start of the 2023 season and was respectable in 11 starts at left guard. Incumbent right guard Ed Ingram is durable, but is -- or should be -- far from a shoo-in to keep his starting status.
So what else is still out there in free agency? Well, the best bets -- or as good as best bets can be when perusing other teams’ castaways -- are gone. But there are some intriguing names.
Laken Tomlinson, 32, Jets. The 2015 first-round draft pick of the Lions has started 138 of 146 games and hasn’t missed one in six years.
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Andrus Peat, 30, Saints. Built like a tackle and plays guard and tackle.
Kevin Zeitler, 34, Ravens. A durable 12-year veteran who has kept right on pile-driving and protecting the middle at a high level through 182 NFL games, 181 of them starts.
Connor Williams, 26, Dolphins. The guard/center would have been long gone as one of the top free-agent interior linemen had he not suffered a torn ACL last December. Players, especially young ones, bounce back from these injuries faster and better every year. If the docs sign off on Williams and the price is right and incentive-based to protect the team, someone could be getting one heck of a deal at a position that isn’t quarterback, but is still worth talking about.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
