The Minnesota Vikings have had their share of problems to solve over the years, but one of the biggest questions is “Can he play guard?” The question has reached meme-like levels since Steve Hutchinson was released following the 2011 season, and the past 15 years have seen many come and go as they plug what feels like an eternal hole on the offensive line.
One of the latest challengers was Will Fries, who signed a five-year, $87.7 million contract with the Vikings last spring. But after a disappointing first season, ESPN’s Mike Clay believes he’s not going to solve the problem, recently ranking him as the 10th-worst guard in the NFL in his offensive line projections for the 2026 season.
With most of his free agent class signings already out the door, Fries could be the next on the chopping block, especially if an unexpected contender emerges from the pack.
Is Minnesota Vikings guard Will Fries already on the chopping block ahead of 2026 season?
Fries wasn’t terrible for the Vikings last year, but they also didn’t get what they paid for. Coming off a season where he posted a career-high overall grade of 86.9 and just six pressures with two sacks for the Indianapolis Colts in 2024, Fries’s 2025 overall grade of 61.8 ranked 44th out of 85 qualifying guards according to PFF.
Pass protection was also an issue for Fries as he ranked sixth among all guards with 37 quarterback pressures allowed, including three sacks on 574 snaps.
There are several reasons that could have contributed to Fries’s performance, including a fractured leg that ended his final season in Indianapolis after five games and a recovery process that lingered until training camp.
The constant shuffling along the offensive line also didn’t help matters, as Brian O’Neill battled a knee injury and Justin Skule was a poor choice as the Vikings’ swing tackle.
But Clay’s projections, which are based on “a variety of stats including pass & run block win rates, PFF grade, utilization, pedigree, etc.” place more of the blame on Fries.
So does the selection of Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernen in the third round of last month’s draft, who NFL.com’s Eric Edholm believes could move inside from tackle to guard as he gets settled in, as he shared on a recent episode of "The Viking Age Podcast."
“I haven’t talked to anybody in Minnesota about the Tiernan pick specifically, so it’s hard for me. I can speculate and say that one of the things that came up on him was the short arms.
He is a big, tall guy, but… an unusual body shape. You don’t see a [6-foot-7] guy with 32-inch arms very often.
…And some people I thought maybe he was best inside, and the fact that he was drafted [97th overall]…I thought this was a guy who had a chance to go in the first or second round just because of the shallow tackle market.
So the fact that he lasted about another round after that tells me that more teams projected him inside.”
Edholm added that he wasn’t sure if the Vikings were one of those teams, and Tiernan could be a swing tackle with potential for more as he progresses. But if Minnesota does see him as a guard, it’s another sign it’s go time for Fries.
According to Spotrac, the Vikings have a potential out in Fries’s contract after this season and can shed his entire $21.5 million cap hit with no dead money in a release before June 1. It’s also worth noting that his cap hit would be the seventh-highest among guards in 2027, meaning that being just good enough won’t cut it.
With everyone outside of the TCO Performance Center seeing the problem and Fries having potential competition, it’s an important year for him to rebound.
If he doesn’t, the question of “Can he play guard?” will continue to haunt the Vikings, and it could be time for another challenger like Tiernan to seize the role.
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