2 Moves Kickstart Vikings Free Agency

The World Has "Grades" for Vikings Big Trade
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

NFL free agency formally begins on March 15, and the Minnesota Vikings decided Friday to keep a couple of veterans in-house.

Defensive lineman Khyris Tonga and offensive tackle Blake Brandel will remain with the club in 2023.

2 Moves Kickstart Vikings Free Agency

The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis tweeted, “The Vikings have re-signed DT Khyiris Tonga, who, like Blake Brandel, was set to become an exclusive rights free agent. Tonga was a phenomenal mid-season pluck off of the Falcons’ practice squad.”

Aside from future-contract moves right after the Vikings playoff loss, the firing of defensive coordinator Ed Dontell, and the hire of new defensive bossman Brian Flores, the Tonga + Brandel retentions represent the first real personnel moves of the offseason.

2 Moves Kickstart
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Out of nowhere last season, Tonga was absolutely tremendous, tabulating a 77.9 Pro Football Focus grade, the 13th-best mark in the NFL among interior defensive linemen. The score was also the eighth-best on the Vikings roster. Like Brandel, he’ll remain with the Vikings on an incredibly affordable deal, one year for $940,000.

The BYU alumnus played 11 games in 2022 while starting 2 and registered 28 total tackles, 4 passes defended, 2 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah preaches value ad nauseam, and retaining Tonga for $940,000 with that PFF grade (and that abbreviated statline) adheres to the spirit of Adofo-Mensah’s philosophy.

Based on Tonga’s 2022 production, the man could theoretically start on the Vikings defensive line this fall if incumbent defender Dalvin Tomlinson, a free agent, is not re-signed.

Vikings re-sign free agent
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For the offensive line, Brandel will stay, too, and he’s been a part of the Vikings roster longer than Tonga. Former GM Rick Spielman selected Brandel from the 6th Round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Oregon State product has floated between the active roster and practice squad since. He tallied a 55.3 PFF grade in 2022, participating in 9 games, 3 as a starter, for 275 offensive snaps.

Brandel was showcased more often last year when injuries beset Christian Darrisaw. But Brandel injured his MCL in December, hit Injured Reserve, and wasn’t activated again until the postseason.

The Vikings are set at left and right tackle with the aforementioned Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, but the Brandel transaction can be labeled a “depth move” and reduces the necessity for Adofo-Mensah signing a newcomer in free agency or selecting an OT in April’s draft. Of course, Adofo-Mensah could still get deeper at tackle from either venue, but Brandel is a trustworthy backup to Darrisaw and O’Neill after three seasons in the league.

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Minnesota has about four weeks to slither under the NFL’s salary cap threshold, so the Tonga and Brandel additions are a mini-shots-fired moment to begin the process. The Vikings are roughly $23 million over the cap as of February 16th.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.

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