Who will the Minnesota Vikings pick to fill in for their injured right guard?
When the Minnesota Vikings head out on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts this weekend, they will have to do it without their starting right guard, Pat Elflein.
Minnesota announced on Thursday that they have placed Elflein on injured reserve, meaning the offensive lineman will have to miss the team’s next three games at the very least.
Elflein was arguably the weakest of the five Vikings starting offensive linemen during their loss to the Green Bay Packers last week. So while his loss isn’t ideal for Minnesota, the circumstances could be worse.
Now, the Vikings will have to figure out who will be their starting right guard for the next three weeks while Elflein sits out. He could potentially end up missing more than three games depending on the severity of his injury (which Minnesota doesn’t have to disclose), so the Vikings might have to find a more permanent option at right guard rather than someone who can just fill in for a few weeks.
With there not being much time until their next game and with the Vikings not having much when it comes to spending money to bring in someone from free agency, who are a few potential options the team could look at as Elflein’s replacement?
Dru Samia
Selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Dru Samia didn’t see much time on the field during his rookie season with the team last year.
Prior to this summer’s training camp, some felt Samia had a shot at winning the starting spot at right guard. But that was quickly put to bed after camp began and Minnesota decided to just move Pat Elflein over from left guard to right guard as part of their starting offensive line.
Out of the remaining offensive linemen on the Vikings roster, Samia feels like the favorite to at least get the start at right guard in Week 2 when they take on the Colts.
Minnesota will probably add a blocker from their practice squad to their active roster before Sunday for additional depth. But they likely won’t be selecting Elfein’s replacement for this week with someone from the practice squad.
The jury is still out on Samia and if he gets the nod to start for the Vikings in Week 2, he needs to take advantage of the gigantic opportunity. If he performs well enough, it could potentially result in him keeping the starting job for the rest of the season.
Ezra Cleveland
This might be a little puzzling for some since rookie Ezra Cleveland spent his college career at Boise State lining up as an offensive tackle. But during the Vikings’ training camp this summer, the team had him primarily lining up as a guard.
Perhaps it was just to improve his versatility and make him more useful as a utility lineman until he can find a spot in the starting lineup. But Cleveland is one of the few left on Minnesota’s active roster who is familiar with the duties that are required from the team’s right guard.
Now, he is a rookie and he’s only had a little more than a month to practice and learn the Vikings’ blocking schemes, so putting him out there in Week 2 might be a little too risky.
But Minnesota doesn’t have a ton of options when it comes to guys who are already on their roster that could replace Pat Elflein.
Cleveland likely won’t be the Vikings’ first choice as their next starting right guard. But if their first selection ends up not working out, Minnesota could look to give the rookie a shot at the role down the road.
Josh Kline
Josh Kline was Minnesota’s starting right guard last season and most felt he did a pretty decent job. Claiming that Kline was the second-best Vikings offensive lineman in 2019 was not a crazy thought to have.
However, Minnesota decided to move on from the veteran blocker this offseason and he’s been a free agent ever since. With Kline still being available, the Vikings would be wise to give him a call in the near future.
He reportedly hasn’t ruled out a return to Minnesota according to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson back in August. The problem for the Vikings is that they just don’t have a ton of cash to sign someone right now.
OverTheCap.com has Minnesota with just under $2 million in cap space currently and Kline could end up being out of their price range. So unless their former starting right guard is willing to play for the league minimum, the Vikings will probably roll out with someone else at right guard until Pat Elflein can return to the field.