Vikings Address Offensive Line Problem
The Minnesota Vikings had a tumultuous cutdown day on Tuesday and continued to make moves on Wednesday. Myles Gaskin was added to the running back room that desperately needed another player, and wide receiver Jalen Reagor was released as a corresponding move. Now, the Vikings have fixed another depth problem.
Vikings Address Offensive Line Problem
An additional roster issue was the depth on the offensive line. The Vikings traded left tackle Vederian Lowe to the New England Patriots, stashed guard Chris Reed on the non-football injury list, and released all but eight other linemen, leading to the team needing to add one depth piece, and they found that on Wednesday.
Mike Garafolo reported on the X app: “Vikings are signing OT David Quessenberry to the active roster pending a physical, source says. Quessenberry was released by the Bills yesterday.”
David Quessenberry is an experienced offensive tackle. The 33-year-old was a 2013 sixth-round selection of the Houston Texans, a team he stayed with until he was waived in 2018. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2014 and didn’t return to practice until 2017. Quessenberry appeared in two games for the Texans in 2017.
His next stint led him to the practice squad of the Tennessee Titans, where he spent the 2018 season and played in 33 games for his new team in the following three seasons. He also caught a receiving touchdown in 2019 from Marcus Mariota on a trick play.
In 2022, Quessenberry signed with the Buffalo Bills and played 16 games. Throughout his career, the offensive lineman played in 51 games, starting 26. He was released on final cutdown day, and it took him just one day to find a new home.
The Vikings have had a strange approach to the offensive line, a struggling unit. Kirk Cousins ended much more often on the ground than his team would’ve liked, and still, the decision-makers didn’t address the offensive line throughout the year.
The whole starting lineup returned and is expected to start in Week 1, including the shaky interior players Ed Ingram, Garrett Bradbury, and Ezra Cleveland. They bank on continuity and a sophomore jump from Ingram to help them improve.
Quassenberry will not replace one of them. He will more likely be a depth piece behind the two strong offensive tackles, Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw.
His PFF grades in the last three seasons, when he received most of his career reps, were decent:
- 2022 – 59.3
- 2021 – 80.6
- 2020 – 61.7
It remains to be seen if the Vikings make another move on the line to add competition for the interior linemen, but for now, the OL depth appears to be ready for the season.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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