Vikings starter deserves to be benched after terrible performance vs. Jets

For the third time in five games, right guard Ed Ingram led the Minnesota Vikings in pressures allowed during the team's win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

During the Vikings' latest victory, Ingram allowed a total of five pressures and one sack. His PFF pass-blocking grade from the matchup was an abysmal 19.8 (out of 100), which was the fourth-worst among all starting NFL offensive linemen in Week 5 behind Carolina Panthers center Austin Corbett (18.2), New England Patriots center Nick Leverett (7.9), and Los Angeles Rams left guard Logan Bruss (0.0).

Overall, Ingram has allowed the second-most pressures among all interior offensive linemen in the league through the first five weeks of the season. After allowing a total of 42 pressures and five sacks last year, he's on pace to finish the 2024 campaign with 58 pressures allowed and give up 10 sacks.

Minnesota Vikings should bench Ed Ingram, but who can they replace him with?

While Ingram's performance is certainly deserving of a benching, Minnesota doesn't have a ton of options to turn to as his replacement.

Veteran guard Dalton Risner is still on injured reserve with a back injury, however, he did get back in the weight room near the end of September, so it's possible that he might be ready to return after the Vikings bye week.

Even if Risner is ready to play in Week 7, does Minnesota want his first game back to be against a tough Detroit Lions pass rush? That's something the Vikings coaching staff will definitely have to figure out during their time off.

Other than Risner, Minnesota's other reserve offensive linemen who could potentially replace Ingram are veteran Dan Feeney and rookie Michael Jurgens.

Since entering the NFL in 2017, Feeney has started multiple games at left guard, center, and right guard. So he could be a possible option for the Vikings to turn to at right guard if Risner isn't ready to return from injured reserve by Week 7.

Minnesota might be a little more hesitant to try Jurgens at right guard since he's a rookie, and it seems like the team would like to utilize him more as a center since that's the position he lined up at during the majority of his college career at Wake Forest.

The Vikings do also have two offensive guards on their current practice squad, Henry Byrd and Tyrese Robinson. But it would be a little odd for Minnesota to replace a starter with someone from the practice squad for a reason that's not injury related.

Signing a free-agent guard or trading for one are also options for the Vikings to consider. But it's not like there's currently an All-Pro just sitting in free agency, and Minnesota doesn't really have much to offer in a trade in terms of future draft assets.

So, yes, the Vikings don't have a clear-cut solution when it comes to replacing Ingram in the starting lineup. But continuing to start him isn't going to solve anything either.

Minnesota has an extra week to prepare for the next game on their schedule and some of that time should be used to find someone else to start at right guard.

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