Former Vikings lineman Jeremiah Sirles signs with the Carolina Panthers
By Adam Carlson
Former Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles has signed a one year contract with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.
The Minnesota Vikings signed an offensive lineman yesterday, but they have allowed a veteran player who has spent three years with the team leave in free agency, resulting in him being signed by another organization.
Chris Tomasson from the Pioneer Press recently announced on his Twitter account that offensive tackle and guard Jeremiah Sirles has indeed signed a contract with the Carolina Panthers to play for one season.
Here is his tweet including the details of the transaction:
Offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles signed a one-year deal with the Panthers for the veteran minimum of $790,000. That's what the #Vikings were willing to offer him. They didn't tender him for the $1.907 million.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 23, 2018
The Vikings declined to place a tender on Sirles this year, opening him up to other teams. Unsurprisingly, the veteran offensive lineman was able to latch on with another team, even though it is only for the league minimum.
Although Sirles will be a member of the Panthers for the 2018 NFL season, Sirles had nothing but good things to say about the Vikings organization, giving praise for the three years he spent in Minnesota and thanking them for giving him opportunities.
OL Jeremiah Sirles: "We decided the Panthers were a better fit for me. I have a lot of love for the #Vikings. They took a chance on me three years ago. They decided to trade for me and I had a great three-year run up there. The fans, coaches and everything was great.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 23, 2018
Taking it one step further, Jeremiah Sirles took to his own twitter account to thank the organization and fans for the support over his three years in Minnesota. Check out the tweet right here:
Thank you to the Vikings organization, teammates and fans it was a tremendous 3 years up North. I am so excited to have officially signed with the @Panthers God is so good! Can’t wait to get here and get to work! #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/Lu0BlZyQoX
— Jeremiah Sirles (@Sirles71_HSKR) March 23, 2018
At only 26 years old, Sirles has started 15 games of the 30 games he saw action in. During that time, he filled in as a guard and an offensive tackle when the Vikings franchise struggled in a massive way to stay healthy.
Sirles is a former undrafted free agent out of Nebraska who was picked up by the San Diego Chargers following the 2014 NFL Draft. He landed on their practice squad and got elevated to their 53-man roster following injuries on their line.
Minnesota was impressed with what they saw in Sirles and traded a sixth-round draft pick to the Chargers for his rights. While he didn’t see the field in a regular season game in 2015, he went on to see plenty of action in future games. Now he brings his talents to Carolina.
Next: Realistic free-agent options for the Vikings' offense in 2018
We at The Viking Age would like to thank Jeremiah Sirles for his time in Minnesota and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors in Carolina or wherever his career may take him.