The Minnesota Vikings were aggressive in free agency this offseason. The team prioritized improving things in the trenches by making upgrades on the offensive and defensive lines early and often in free agency.
What was interesting was how the Vikings handled the situations with the players they replaced, especially on the offensive line. After being replaced, center Garrett Bradbury, and right guard Ed Ingram were let go this offseason, similar to what happened with Ezra Cleveland previously.
The Minnesota Vikings made some aggressive moves this offseason, and a few of them are aging poorly.
Right now, the Minnesota Vikings likely wish they had guys like Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Ezra Cleveland, and others who the team moved on from in favor of the current group of starting offensive linemen.
Here is a quick rundown of what is going on for the Vikings starting offensive line:
Left tackle: Christian Darrisaw started the season recovering from an injury last season.
Left guard: Rookie Donovan Jackson injured his wrist and needed a minor procedure.
Center: Ryan Kelly entered concussion protocol twice so far this season and is now on IR.
Right guard: Will Fries entered the season recovering from a leg injury, but is still in the lineup.
Right tackle: Brian O'Neill sprained his MCL in Week 4 against the Steelers and is week-to-week
This doesn't even take into account that some of Minnesota's backups are banged up as well. When the team runs out of players on the roster with experience playing center and is starting a guard there with the backup tight as an option, things are bad.
Looking back, the sixth-round draft pick that the Vikings got for Ed Ingram (who was on his rookie deal) seems highly regrettable. It gets even worse when realizing that Minnesota got absolutely nothing when moving on from center Garrett Bradbury.
Rolling the dice on players to be healthy is a huge gamble. And signing a player with a history like center Ryan Kelly made those odds even worse. Now, the purple and gold are stuck in a position that not even an early Week 6 bye can help to fix.
During that bye week, it would be smart for the Minnesota Vikings to evaluate their situation with the offensive linemen and make adjustments. That's not saying to make a big trade for a new starting center, but perhaps signing a veteran interior lineman to help with depth would be wise.