4 Vikings players already fighting for their futures this season
By Dean Jones
Dru Samia – OG
Dru Samia has been given a substantial opportunity to make his presence felt in the starting lineup following an injury to Pat Elflein. But if what we have seen from the offensive lineman so far is any indication, Samia is clearly not ready for this sort of responsibility.
The Vikings have endured plenty of struggles regarding their interior protection this season. Center Garrett Bradbury has had some nice moments, but it hasn’t been good enough by any stretch of the imagination.
Samia needs to take the lion’s share of the blame for this. He has looked like a deer in the headlights for the most part and this bears more significance whenever quarterback Kirk Cousins drops back to pass.
He is one of the NFL’s worst-graded players this season according to Pro Football Focus, and with good reason.
Samia currently has a dismal grade of 30.4 after giving up three sacks in just 185 snaps and although he has two years remaining on his deal after the 2020 season, the cost to release the player would still be minimal despite Minnesota’s obvious salary-cap concerns next year.
The lineman has his work cut out in order to turn around this sort of start. Confidence is a big thing for players at the guard position and Samia might already be past the point of no return.