Transaction
| On 9 years ago

Report: Vikings Sign Alex Boone

By Brett Anderson

After missing out on George Iloka, who re-signed with the Bengals, the Vikings have made their first free agent acquisition of the offseason. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Minnesota Vikings have reached an agreement with free agent guard Alex Boone.

Boone, 28 years old, has spent his entire career to this point with the San Francisco 49ers after being signed in 2009 out of Ohio State as an undrafted free agent. A two time Pro Bowler (2013, 2015), Boone could be the first step to fixing some glaring issues on the Vikings’ offensive line.

Alex Boone was Pro Football Focus’ eighth best free agent guard, five spots behind Vikings free agent Mike Harris who’s future, at this point, remains an uncertainty. However, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press is reporting that, with the Alex Boone signing, Mike Harris is now considering a one-year “prove it” type deal with the Vikings.

Also per Tomasson, the Vikings are looking to put Boone at left guard, allowing Brandon Fusco to move back to his original position of right guard, where he performed so well prior to last season. Fusco could find himself in a battle at that position if Harris is re-signed.

Currently, no contract details are available for the Boone signing. However, we’ll update you as soon as any news becomes available on the Vikings Territory Free Agency Live Blog.

 

Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson (Founder) is a passionate Viking fan hailing from Sin City, Las Vegas. He can remember, as a child, scraping his knee on the playground and his friends being completely shocked by the purple blood trickling from the wound. When Brett isn't scouring the Internet for some semblance of Vikings news, he enjoys blindly putting money on them to beat whoever their opponent may be, and daydreams about being their next Tight End. Brett graduated from UNLV with a degree in Architecture and specializes in web/graphic design; he hopes to provide this site’s visitors with the best Vikings experience on the net.

Tags: alex boone brandon fusco michael harris

View Comments

  • Excellent signing on 2 fronts.....
    1....2 time pro bowl LG
    2....moves Fusco back to RG where he belongs.
    Great move....the train is picking up steam boys, hop aboard.

  • Even without Harris, the Vikes may give Clemmings a shot at RG, he does have a year of experience now

    • Thanks for sharing that link Cal. Yeah, bring some nasty and attitude to the oline.. breed competition. Harris is going to be looking to prove himself/. I think Fusco will also be well motivated. Harris, Fusco, Berger, Sully, Phil, Boone.. Much better depth even if they really didn't improve so much at any one position. I was also wondering the same as holdsteady. If the guy has made the pro bowl twice, and just last season.. how was he rated lower than Harris? I have not seen Harris' blocking proficiency rating for last year, but he must have been well into the 90+% range to be five spots ahead Boone. I believe it is now too late (?) to cut Sully, Fusco, and/or Kalil without a cap hit. They should be solid from LG to RT, let us hope that the Vikes know what they are doing in seemingly placing all of their marbles into the Kalil basket at LT. I am wondering what they might be thinking since all three that will be competing for two guard positions have all proven to be better at RG.

  • Don't know much about the pff rated 8th best guard in free agency, he looks like a tough dude. Curious why pff had him rated so low if he made pro bowl twice? Anyone know the knocks on him? Can he pass protect?

    • He's great in pass protection!
      I have been scanning around the webs and Niner Nation did a piece on Boone where they feel that he regressed slightly in 2015 due to the change from a power blocking scheme to more of a zone scheme.
      Sparano seems to favour more of a power scheme,so hopefully Boone can be a big piece to solving the OL issues.
      Also another tidbit from Niner Nation.Boone has stated he would like to play at Tackle,so that might make life interesting in camp.

  • Niners nation says he is a better RG than LG. Great, we already slotted him at LG. Here's hoping. Hard to imagine he would be worse than Fusco was last year.