7 free-agent defensive linemen the Vikings could sign in 2023

Isaiah Buggs

2022 Team: Detroit Lions

Teams are always looking to find bargains on the free agent market, and one good way to identify a bargain is to catch a guy who is coming off a big season. Sure, it could end up being a fluke, but it could also be the start of someone who is coming into their own and realizing they can play with the big boys in the NFL. That can be said about Isiah Buggs.

Buggs spent his first three years with the Steelers, where he did basically nothing. He had 31 tackles in his time there and no sacks. He started just seven games, and it surprised no one when he wasn’t brought back.

The Lions went out and signed him, and he ended up starting 13 games for them. Buggs had a career year in 2022 with 46 total tackles, a sack, two passes defended, and a forced fumble which may have come against Dalvin Cook and the Vikings.

Not to beat a dead horse, but Buggs has that versatility that the new Vikings’ defensive coordinator likes, as he’s played all over the front line during his tenure in the league. Signing Buggs would be a low-risk, high-reward type of move, and stealing him away from a division rival also would be a bonus.