How To Fix The O-Line Discussion

Depending on which website you use, the Vikings head into the offseason with around $20 million in cap space, which ranks them in the bottom five in the NFL. However, the OvertheCap.com cap calculator indicates that the Vikings could have around $37 million if Adrian Peterson is released, $43 million by releasing Peterson and defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd.

Add guard Brandon Fusco and defensive lineman Brian Robison to the cut list, the Vikings would shoot up to 11th in the league in cap room. But Minnesota would still have less than half of the cap room of the Cleveland Browns, who will be working with over $100 million this offseason.

Cleveland won’t be on the market for a left tackle so long as Joe Thomas wants to stay, but teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks have more than $30 million to spend and will be desperate to find protection for their elite quarterbacks.

Another factor that will jack up the price is that there are only a handful of proven tackles on the free agent market. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal wrote that Baltimore right tackle Rick Wagner could get paid more than $10 million per year. If that’s the case, how much will top left tackle Andrew Whitworth demand?

The Vikings' biggest need is at tackle, and the list of free-agent options includes Cincinnati's Andrew Whitworth (who's been on a team with Mike Zimmer before, but is 35 years old) and Detroit's Riley Reiff, who might be better on the right side than the left. Ditto for Baltimore's Ricky Wagner, who is only 27 and could command significant money. That's why the Vikings might opt to bring back Matt Kalil, who's coming off a hip injury but already knows the system and might be amenable to a reasonable deal to stay in Minnesota.

The free-agent options at guard are more intriguing, albeit more expensive, with Green Bay's T.J. Lang, Cincinnati's Kevin Zeitler, and Dallas' Ron Leary highlighting the group. The Vikings would have to decide, though, whether it's worth spending big money for another guard after signing Alex Boone last year, and they'd have to make a decision on Brandon Fusco, whose release would free up $3.2 million in cap room.

People always ask about a trade for a player like Joe Thomas or Joe Staley, and while the Vikings don't have a first-round pick to offer, they do have five in the second through fourth rounds. Still, a deal for one of those players would require a team that covets draft picks to part with precious resources less than eight months after the Sam Bradford trade.

The tough part about improving the line is that the Vikings aren’t a player or two away from fixing it. They are going to add multiple players along the entire line OT, G, and C to get this group back to a solid unit. It will take at least 1 high priced free agent, along with some free agent depth moves …. on top of that they’ll also need to spend not only an early draft pick, but multiple picks come draft day.

Below is how I could see our offensive tackle situation shaking out and some options in both free agency and the draft that could help get the Vikings line back into shape.