The Minnesota Vikings made a trade on Tuesday that resulted in them acquiring defensive tackle Ross Blacklock from the Houston Texans.
Tuesday is when the Minnesota Vikings had to trim their roster all the way down to 53 players, but moving on from guys isn’t all they did. The Vikings also added a new member to their roster on Tuesday when they made a trade with the Houston Texans for defensive lineman Ross Blacklock.
Blacklock and a seventh-round draft selection were acquired by Minnesota from Houston in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
News of the move came shortly after it was revealed that the Vikings were moving on from veteran defensive tackle Armon Watts on Tuesday according to multiple reports.
What can the Minnesota Vikings expect from former Houston Texans DL Ross Blacklock?
Blacklock, the 40th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has only been in the league for two seasons, so it’s possible that Minnesota might have landed a steal in Tuesday’s trade.
He was pretty underwhelming as a rookie, but for the Texans last season, he finished with 22 tackles (two for a loss), 25 pressures, two sacks, and one forced fumble in 14 appearances.
Blacklock graded as PFF’s 79th-best interior defender last year, but he also finished with PFF’s 42nd-best pass rush grade among all interior defenders in the league.
One would assume that he has a good shot at taking the place of Watts in the Vikings’ starting lineup, but that, of course, depends on how quickly he can pick up the team’s defense. He doesn’t have much time as Minnesota has their first game of the regular season against the Green Bay Packers in less than two weeks on September 11.
If Blacklock doesn’t end up as a Week 1 starter, then that role would likely end up going to James Lynch or Jonathan Bullard. We’ll definitely have to pay attention to how this all shakes out.