Bryant McKinnie will line up at left tackle, even though there are plenty of people rooting for Phil Loadholt to shift over there.  Steve Hutchinson will be at left guard, John Sullivan at center and Anthony Herrera at right guard.  The aforementioned Mr. Loadholt will begin his second season as the starting right tackle.

Things to watch for in camp:

The health of Hutch.  He battled back problems all last season, and was not his old dominating self.  If Hutch could return to close to 100% health, it would go a long way toward helping Adrian Peterson get that yards-per-carry average back up where it was in 2007 and 2008.

The development of Sullivan.  He was, to me, the weak link on the line last year.  He needs to get better if the Vikes are going to have a truly fearsome offense.  He did battle an ankle injury last season, so perhaps with that healed his mobility and leverage will be improved.

The development of Loadholt. He has the physical tools to be one of the best tackles in the league.  Now it’s all about refining his technique.  Eventually, he should become the left tackle.

As for Mr. McKinnie. You get what you get with good old Mount McMeathead.  Some days he’s going to look like a Pro Bowl tackle, other days he’s going to give you the impression that he’s never played organized football in his life.  I really don’t see him coming into camp with some new ferocious attitude.  He’s a big turd who’s always gotten by on physical gifts, and to expect him to suddenly develop the heart of a lion at this point would be wishful thinking at best.

Do any of the non-starters from last year have a chance to push any of the presumed starters for this year?  There’s no one who jumps out, but you have to believe that the brass are at least hoping someone will emerge to make a run at Anthony Herrera at right guard.  There was talk all off-season of adding someone like Chester Pitts (who has now signed with Seattle), and that indicates to me that Herrera is ripe for the picking – if someone wants to pick him.

2010 Draft pick Chris DeGeare, who played both tackle and guard in college, would seem the most likely candidate to spring from the pack and contend for a starting spot.  Ryan Cook is the most veteran guy among the back-ups, and should step into the departed Artis Hicks‘ role as #1 sub.  Some may cringe at that prospect.

Jon Cooper and Drew Radovich would seem to have the inside track on winning bench roles.  Neither, one assumes, has any chance of usurping a starter.

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And if you were thinking of starting some kind of T.O.-to-Minnesota rumor…well, you can forget it.  Because the Vikings categorically are not interested in the controversial wide receiver.

This news comes via no less a personage than Rick Spielman, who apparently discussed the matter with KSTP-TV (Minneapolis) sports director Joe Schmitt while they were playing golf.

And then Schmitt tweeted about it.  So now we all know that the Vikings don’t want T.O.

Unless it’s all a smokescreen created via this elaborate plan involving Spielman, his golfing buddy and Twitter.

Mmm…no.

Interestingly, in the same tweet, Schmitt passed along the information that the Vikings are no longer in the running for the services of offensive lineman Chester Pitts, who had been scheduled to work out with the team at one point.

That was one informative tweet.  Much better than mine, which are usually something like “That peanut tasted funny.”

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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.