Chester Pitts Says He Has Spoken to the Vikings

For the past seven months, Houston Texans guard Chester Pitts has been rehabbing the knee he injured last September against the Titans.

When and if Pitts is able to return from the injury, which required him to undergo microfracture surgery, it is likely he will do so with a new team. So far, the Texans have shown “very little to [no]” interest in retaining Pitts’ services, despite the 7 years of solid work he put in for them.

Pitts himself reports that he has been contacted by several teams, including the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings.

“I actually had Minnesota call last week and want to know where I was [in the rehab process],” Pitts says.

Most observers agreed going into the draft that the Vikings needed to upgrade their depth along the offensive line, especially with the loss of Artis Hicks. They did end up taking lineman Chris DeGeare of Wake Forest, but not until the 5th round.

That left the Vikings still searching for someone to replace Hicks, who filled in at both guard and tackle the last few seasons.

Pitts would seem a logical selection to become the new Artis. He’s a reliable veteran who can play multiple positions, and considering his injury situation, he will come cheap.

Pitts also fits the standard Brad Childress-era offensive lineman profile in one other important way: he is considered more of a finesse blocker than an overpowering type.

I’m not sure he would be much of an upgrade over Anthony Herrera, if your purpose were to replace Herrera at right guard, but it’s always nice to have options.