MN Vikings Living with Ed Ingram Regret?

This season has hardly gone as planned for the Minnesota Vikings. Not only are they a disappointing 6-8 on the season, but the Vikings’ failures start in the trenches — where they have invested more money and resources than anywhere else on roster.

Now that starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw is on injured reserve, Minnesota’s starting offensive line will finish the 2025 season having played just two games together, as a unit.

Last offseason, the MN Vikings o-line reconstruction project started in March with a trade, when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah sent his 2022 second round pick Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans, in exchange for a 2026 6th rounder.

Then, they went out and signed 27-year-old Will Fries — who established himself as one of the better right guards in football, prior to suffering a leg injury that ended his 2024 season with the Colts. A month later, the Vikings drafted Donovan Jackson in the first round, to sure up their left guard spot.

Ed Ingram Making the Vikings Look Bad in 2025

Meanwhile, Ed Ingram went to Houston and quietly won their starting RG job out of camp. And since, the one-time bust has turned into one of the best interior offensive linemen in all of football, grading out as the NFL’s 14th-best guard (73.3), according to Pro Football Focus — and 5th-best in run block (82.4).

By comparison, the Vikings’ new guard duo of Will Fries and Donovan Jackson rank 39th (61.7 PFF) and 45th (58.2 PFF), respectively. Given what Minnesota has been dealing with on their offensive line all season,The Athletic’s Dianna Russini can’t help but wonder if the Vikings regret letting Ingram go for cheap.

Ed Ingram was an afterthought when they signed him from Minnesota this offseason, but the 26-year-old guard has been the best player on an offensive line that was expected to sink Houston.

Dianna Russini

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There is still plenty of hope for Jackson, who is just 23 years old, with 11 games under his NFL belt. He showed promise in his debut and he’s flashed at times. Unfortunately, Fries has fallen well short of expectations.

On a brighter note, new center Ryan Kelly ranks third at his position, per PFF. Unfortunately, Kelly has missed seven games this season due to concussions.

At 32 years old, he may have some tough decisions to make this offseason, despite being under contract for another year. If changes are coming for the Vikings this offseason, offensive line coach Chris Kuper may be the obvious starting point.