Who will the the Vikings replace Sheldon Richardson with in 2019?

With their starting defensive tackle now a member of the Cleveland Browns, who will the Minnesota Vikings turn to as his replacement in 2019?

Despite only getting him to sign a one-year deal last offseason, the Minnesota Vikings hoped that there would be a possibility of retaining defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson for 2019. However, Richardson decided to follow the money and sign on to play for the Cleveland Browns next season.

With him gone, the Vikings must now figure out who will take his place in their defense for 2019. Minnesota did just bring back Shamar Stephen and he could be a candidate to start next season, but the Vikings need to go through all of their options before making a final decision.

Minnesota has a bunch of routes that they could take to find a replacement for Richardson. The Vikings can turn to some of the players who are currently on their roster, they can see which free agents are affordable, or they can consider using an early-round draft pick on a defensive tackle prospect later this year.

If they don’t end up re-signing Tom Johnson, Minnesota will likely have their fourth different Week 1 starting defensive tackle next to Linval Joseph in the last four seasons. Should the Vikings look for more of a long-term solution at the position or should they try and take a chance on someone who might bolt for another team after 2019?

When it comes to taking Richardson’s place in their defense next season, who are some of the possible candidates that could fill the role for Minnesota?