NFL Free Agent Pool Suddenly Saturated with Guard Talent
We all know the many holes currently lining an otherwise talented Minnesota Vikings roster, as we gear up for the NFL free agency which starts on March 17.
#Vikings under contract. A pre-free agency depth chart pic.twitter.com/gElzH45yee
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) March 9, 2021
It’s an interesting offseason, given that teams across the league are shedding salary anywhere and everywhere they can, in a desperate effort to get under the $180 million 2021 salary cap, down about $20 million from last season due to revenue losses caused by COVID-19.
In order to do anything in free agency, the Vikings will have to find cap relief for themselves but that’s something that can be accomplished in a multitude of ways. There are contracts across the roster that are ripe to be re-done. I’ve written about doing so with Harrison Smith, Riley Reiff, Danielle Hunter and Kirk Cousins but there are others.
On Guard!
The Minnesota Vikings desperately need help on the interior of their offensive line, specifically left guard (as long as they keep Riley Reiff around). If Spielman can fill that interior gap, excuses for anything but an explosive and consistent offense would be hard to find.
Defense is another story that we’ll worry about that another day. After what happened across the league today, it’s a good time to be in the market for a guard that’s affordable but hopefully not over-the-hill.
Kyle Long appears to have come out of retirement as I published this tweet. Throw his name into the frenzy. https://t.co/AFzqRPRSnc
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 9, 2021
| Player (Guard) | Age | G | GS | ’20 Cap Hit | 2020 GS | ’20 PFF |
| James Carpenter | 31 | 127 | 121 | $5.1M | 13/13 (ATL) | 56.1 |
| Joe Thuney | 28 | 80 | 80 | $14.8M | 16/16 (NE) | 74.2 |
| Gabe Jackson | 29 | 100 | 99 | $9.6M | 16/16 (LV) | 63.7 |
| Lane Taylor | 31 | 79 | 50 | $2.4M | 1/1 (GB) | 81.6 |
| Austin Blythe | 28 | 71 | 49 | $3.9M | 16/16 (LAR) | 69.3 |
| Brian Winters | 29 | 105 | 88 | $3.0M | 9/16 (BUF) | 54.6 |
| Kyle Long | 32 | 77 | 76 | NA | NA | N/A |
As discussed previously and pointed out by multiple NFL agents, 2021 isn’t the year to fight for every dollar you’re worth, especially for talent that sits in the middle or bottom tiers of the NFL.
Could we see one of the guys listed above take a prove-it deal with the Vikings, in hopes of a big payday in the 2022 offseason? Most of the guys listed above aren’t going to find a deal much better than that…
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan
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