Between free agency and the draft, there can be a lull in NFL teams making notable news. The Minnesota Vikings have been no different, with the conversation centered around what they did in March and what they'll do in the draft this month.
Any other big pieces of offseason conversation have pretty much fallen to the back burner, for now.
On a recent episode of SKOR North's "Purple Daily", co-host Phil Mackey highlighted a listener question around a Vikings topic that has fallen by the wayside a bit.
In the effort to clear much-needed cap space this offseason, a contract extension for right tackle Brian O'Neill has seemed inevitable. But it has not happened yet, as he enters the final year of his contract.
The listener's inquiry wondered about the possibility that the Vikings will trade O'Neill and draft his replacement.
Minnesota Vikings voice talks fans off the ledge regarding Brian O'Neill's future
Co-host Judd Zulgad took the baton, with an opening reference to SKOR North contributor Thor Nystrom having brought it up days before, to talk that listener (and anyone else) off the proverbial ledge regarding O'Neill's future in Purple.
"I want to dissect this a bit, because I consider myself to be among the most reactionary, conspiracy theorists when it comes to sports in this town, and that's a title I will take, and it's very, very fair.
Am I wrong in saying I don't think Brian O'Neill is going anywhere?
I think, if they need to play with his contract, that they will. He'll probably get an extension at some point, and it might not be, I mean, he's not a young man now, so it doesn't need to be five years.
...You've got a right tackle, who's a captain, who you absolutely love.
Am I crazy for saying that it hasn't even been on my radar that his roster spot's in trouble?”
O'Neill will turn 31 in September, so as Zulgad said, he's not getting a five-year contract extension.
But something like a three-year extension to keep someone who's been as consistent as it gets in the league at right tackle for the last several years around is perfect, and it's likely only a matter of time before something along that line gets done as the idea of O'Neill being a Viking for his entire career moves toward reality.
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