Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Preview: Offensive Tackles

[Note: This segment is a part of a position-by-position look at what the Minnesota Vikings might be inclined to do during the 2015 free agency period. This is the 10th article, focusing on the defensive tackles and nose tackles. In case you missed it, feel free to check out the quarterbacksrunning backstight endsfullbackswide outsspecialistssafeties, cornerbacks, defensive ends & interior offensive line]

Welcome to my final piece breaking down the Viking’s free agency options for the offensive line. We’ve taken a look at the guard and center positions here, today we’ll evaluate whether or not there are options for either tackle position for the Vikings moving into the 2015 season.

The position of tackle is always under a heavy microscope. Not only are these players huge, their play sticks out because of how important their success is to the offense.

2014 proved to be a disappointing year for both of the Vikings starting tackles. Long time right side anchor, Phil Loadholt, struggled to find his groove and was eventually shut down due to injury after playing 11 games.

On the left side, ‘sure thing’ 3rd year man, Matt Kalil struggled mightily to regain his rookie year pro bowl form and has taken the brunt of fan backlash. Kalil, who at times looked lost trying to stop speed rushers on the edge, ranked 81st out of 84 tackles graded by profootballfocus.com.

I don’t often like to rely solely on the PFF grades as my benchmark for a players performance and with KalilI don’t have to. His play is mind boggling at times. Kalil notably struggles blocking speed coming off the edge, had trouble identifying his assignments and had his fair share of costly penalties. For what it’s worth, Kalil ranked dead last in terms of PFF’s penalty metric. Not good.

After spending a top 5 pick on Kalil, there is some hesitancy in giving up on him at 25 years old. However, knowing the importance of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the offense and organization, keeping Bridgewater upright has to be a top priority.

Franchise left tackles don’t hit the free agency market often. Their role is too important for teams to let them potentially fall into the hands of another organization. When good left tackles do hit the open market, the importance of the role is shown by the sizable contracts given. The most recent example I can cite is Branden Albert, who left Kansas City to join Miami on a 5 year, $47M contract with more than half ($26M) guaranteed.

Knowing all of this, let’s jump in and see if there are any viable options for the Vikings moving into the 2015 season. Below is a list via sportrac.com of the offensive tackles due to hit the open market.

Byron Bell LT 26 CAR TBD $2,187,000 UFA
Paul McQuistan LT 31 CLE TBD $1,580,000 UFA
Benjamin Ijalana LT 25 NYJ TBD $926,658 UFA
Chris Hairston LT 25 BUF TBD $748,977 UFA
Willie Smith LT 28 SD TBD $645,000 UFA
Mike Harris LT 26 MIN TBD $570,000 RFA
Bryce Harris LT 26 NO TBD $570,000 RFA
Tony Hills LT 30 DAL TBD $472,353 UFA
Will Svitek LT 33 TEN TBD $368,823 UFA
Jonathan Scott LT 32 ATL TBD $335,294 UFA
Bryant Browning LT 26 PIT TBD $303,000 RFA

As I alluded to above, good left tackles don’t hit the free agent market often. Shall we dive in a take a look at some of the options that might jump out to you?

Bryon Bell, 28, Carolina
At first glance, this might seem like a great option for the Vikings. Bell is reasonably young and cheap, by the looks of it. However, remember how I mentioned Kalil ranked 81st out of all tackles? Bell ranked 83rd, so he would be a replacement, yes, but not an improvement.

Benjamin Ijalana, 25, New York Jets
Sure, he’s young and all, but Ijalana played a total of 6 snaps in 2014, 2 of which were at tackle. Clearly not experienced enough to warrant serious consideration as a starting left tackle.

Chris Hariston, 25, Buffalo
Hariston, a 4th round draft pick out of Clemson saw limited playing time at both tackle positions for Buffalo in 2014. That isn’t quite the ringing endorsement you’d need to make a guy your starting left tackle, as Buffalo opted to start rookie and former Cretin-Durham Hall stand out Seantrel Henderson at right tackle. Henderson was pretty bad this past year, I can’t imagine Hariston had showed the Bills much promise.

Mike Harris, 26, Minnesota
Harris, an after training camp addition to the Vikings, saw a decent amount of time at right tackle replacing the injured Loadholt. I think the Vikings like his ability to be the swing tackle (playing either side of the line) and his history with offensive coordinator Norv Turner makes this the most logical fit for both sides.

Now that we’ve looked at the rather bare options on the left side of the line, let’s look to the right side. Loadholt isn’t getting younger, and you have to wonder about his longevity.

Doug Free RT 31 DAL TBD $6,520,000 UFA
Todd Herremans RT 32 PHI TBD $4,200,000 UFA
Bryan Bulaga RT 25 GB TBD $3,829,000 UFA
Michael Oher RT 28 TEN TBD $3,000,000 UFA
Tyler Polumbus RT 29 WAS TBD $2,600,000 UFA
Corey Hilliard RT 29 DET TBD $1,900,000 UFA
Jeremy Parnell RT 28 DAL TBD $1,833,333 UFA
Derek Newton RT 27 HOU TBD $1,446,064 UFA
Marshall Newhouse RT 26 CIN TBD $805,000 UFA
Mike Johnson RT 27 ATL TBD $675,000 UFA
Byron Stingily RT 26 TEN TBD $672,625 UFA
Michael Person RT 26 STL TBD $645,000 UFA
Joe Barksdale RT 26 STL TBD $645,000 UFA
Jason Fox RT 26 MIA TBD $635,000 UFA
Don Barclay RT 25 GB TBD $570,833 RFA
Austin Pasztor RT 24 JAC TBD $570,000 ERFA
Ryan Harris RT 29 KC TBD $570,000 UFA
Eben Britton RT 27 CHI TBD $536,471 UFA

The right tackle market is much more enticing, in my opinion.

Bryan Bulaga, 25, Green Bay Packers
Bulaga is a really interesting option for the Vikings. He’s certainly young and being a former 1st round draft pick, is clearly talented enough to improve the Vikings offensive line. Seeing Bulaga is the consensus #1 tackle available on the open market, I’m not sure the Vikings would get in a bidding war for him. Additionally, we’re not necessarily looking for a Loadholt replacement at this point, maybe a depth option in case of injury. Plus, the thought of the whining that would come from the east if the Vikings signed another former Packer is enough reason not to pursue.

Michael Oher, 28, Tenessee
At this point, Oher’s name is more popular because of the movie focused on him than his on the field play. Oher struggled terribly last year for Tennessee, most notably in the run game, where right tackles earn their worth. With the majority of running plays going to the right, Oher won’t last long if he can’t get better in that area. That said, for the right price, he might be a decent depth option for the Vikings seeing he’s only 28.

Derek Newton, 27, Houston
Newton is a strong right tackle, who struggles in pass blocking but dominates in the run game. After starting 16 games at right tackle for the Texans in 2014, I’d be highly surprised if they let him stray too far away without resigning him. At the end of the day, Newton would be a good fit for the Vikings, but would likely sign with a team who would offer him a starting role. Not going to happen in Minnesota. Not to mention, do you really want two tackles who can’t pass block?

Marshall Newhouse, 26, Cincinnati
Cincinnati played 6 tackles last year, Newhouse receiving the 3rd most snaps out of the bunch. He has some decent versatility with the ability to play on both sides of the line, but isn’t someone who will be a drastic improvement over our in-house guys. He might serve as a decent depth option, though.

Eben Britton, 27, Chicago
Remember when the Bears made the Vikings sweat a bit by pursuing Loadholt two years ago? The Vikings were able to sign Loadholt to a sizable contract, the Bears signed Britton. Britton play some tackle and guard for both Chicago and Jacksonville, who drafted him in the 2nd round in 2009. An interesting option for the Vikings who need depth at both tackle and guard, Britton is young enough and wouldn’t command much money. He would be an smart signing, in my opinion.

Prediction:
The Vikings might opt to sign a tackle with some ability to play both left and right tackle for depth, but I don’t foresee the team signing a big name tackle for two main reasons.

First, there isn’t a lot of talent available on the market, the Vikings would be one of several teams vying for the player. If we’ve learned anything with this exercise, I hope it’s a reinforcement of the fact that talented tackles don’t often hit the open market, and when they do, they’re not cheap.

Additionally, I think Rick Spielman and his front office will stand behind their draft choice and give Kalil another year to prove his worth. For the sake of the team and Teddy, let’s hope he’s up for the challenge.

This leaves us with signing someone like Britton or resigning Harris. Either way, I don’t think we’ll see them make strong push for starting roles, but their depth could serve to be crucial for a team who suffered a lot of injuries to the offensive line in 2014.

Until next time, Skol!

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