While an Interesting Idea, David DeCastro Likely Not an Option for Vikings
Dustin Baker
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From the moment that the 2020 Minnesota Vikings season capped until the second night of the 2021 NFL Draft, the franchise needed an offensive guard(s).
Fans made memes about it. One after another – free-agent guards flew off the board to other NFL teams, leaving the Vikings with “more of the same” in potentially another year of a Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia sandwich. The fear really vamped up when general manager Rick Spielman re-signed Dozier, who had a rather dull 2020 campaign. Folks would hear nothing of the sort that whispered that Dozier was probably just a depth addition or ‘camp body.’ He was going to start again, further tunneling the team into pass-protection doom.
In late April, though, the Vikings drafted Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis in the NFL draft, laying to rest the fears the Vikings would – again – waltz into a season with a stinky offensive line plan. For about two months, all pessimism regarding the offensive line has been quiescent. There is no longer a Waterloo feeling about the offensive line. It’s the other way around; most reasonable Vikings brains believe this current OL group is the most promising concoction in about 10 years.
The plot thickened on Thursday when the Pittsburgh Steelers released stellar guard, David DeCastro. The two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler shockingly hit the open market free to sign with any team.
The Steelers have released guard David DeCastro, per @AdamSchefter
DeCastro pass-blocking stats since ‘17:
🔸 2,236 snaps
🔸 2 sacks allowed pic.twitter.com/Y4qwnHmCti— PFF (@PFF) June 24, 2021
Directly after his release, the Steelers signed Trai Turner – who was linked to the Vikings in free-agent whisper circles. Turner was absolutely terrible in 2020 with the Los Angeles Chargers but will seek a career about-face as the DeCastro replacement in Pennsylvania.
The #Steelers have now agreed to terms with FA G Trai Turner, per agent @DrewJRosenhaus, giving him a 1-year deal. An immediate replacement for David DeCastro.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 24, 2021
Immediately, wheels spun that DeCastro could join the Vikings, serving as a patch-over plan from DeCastro to Wyatt Davis. The Vikings have about $14 million to spend – why not bolster the OL depth just as the team has done with the defense?
Teams don’t release players that reach six consecutive Pro Bowls (DeCastro) whimsically. And it doesn’t even appear to be a contractual dispute. Something deeper is brewing.
Digging into the topic on Friday, one finds that DeCastro exodus is probably an injury-related deal.
David DeCastro: “I have to get surgery on my ankle a third time. I tried to fix it last year but the bone spurs kept coming back. It nagged me pretty bad all last year.” per @JoeStarkey1
#Steelers— Steelers Depot ✌️❤️✌️❤️ (@Steelersdepot) June 25, 2021
That’s the kicker. He will either need ample recovery time, or the 31-year-old will retire. Retiring that young is an oddity, but it is assuredly not unprecedented.
Don’t bank on DeCastro playing with the Vikings – or anywhere – in 2021. If he did sign with Minnesota, he could conceivably play for half of a decade, making the rookie Davis a depth option.
But that is a longshot. The best bet for Vikings OL hopes isn’t Castro. It’s praying that the fivesome of Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Davis, and O’Neill matures and coagulates quickly.
Fun fact: DeCastro was selected five spots before Harrison Smith in the 2012 NFL Draft.