Vikings Keep Potential Starting Defender in the Building
Janik Eckardt
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The Minnesota Vikings started on Friday with their first personnel moves for the 2023 season and are now officially in the offseason. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah first re-signed offensive tackle Blake Brandel. The backup started three games in 2022 and is a valuable depth piece for the purple team.
A bunch of other free agents also require new deals, or they are free to join another team in a few weeks. The top names are Patrick Peterson, Garrett Bradbury, and Dalvin Tomlinson. A potential replacement for the latter will stay with the team in 2023 after a successful 2022 campaign.
Vikings Keep Potential Starting Defender in the Building
Defensive tackles do a lot of dirty work for the defense. They have to take on blockers, so other players on the team can make plays. One of them was Khyiris Tonga, and he will remain with the Vikings in 2023 after the team used the exclusive rights tender for their restricted free agent. He will have a one-year deal for the veteran minimum and will earn $940,000, to be exact.
Tonga was a 2021 seventh-round selection of the Chicago Bears and played for the team in 15 games, including two starts in his rookie campaign. However, after his second preseason, the Bears decided to waive their defender, and the Atlanta Falcons signed him to their practice squad, where he stayed for one month.
On October 5, the Vikings signed him off the Falcons’ practice squad to the active roster right before the game against his former team, the Bears. He was inactive for a couple of contests before he made his Vikings debut in Week 8 against the Cardinals. In his first action for the team, he showed his impact when he pressured quarterback Kyler Murray on a play that resulted in a Harrison Smith interception.
Tonga appeared in 12 games for the Vikings, including one postseason matchup. His statistics show 28 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and one tackle for loss. The defensive tackle played 300 defensive snaps, a much more significant role than initially expected. Tonga even started the final two regular season games.
Tonga earned a PFF grade of 77.8, the 13th best among all interior defenders. His performance was excellent, and he could earn an even bigger role in 2023. Fellow defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson is set to enter free agency and might not be back with the Vikings.
Other interior defenders on the Vikings’ roster are Harrison Phillips, Ross Blacklock, Esezi Otomewo, T.J. Smith, James Lynch, and Sheldon Day.
Phillips has a starting spot locked up, but the other two in Brian Flores’ defense are up for grabs. Blacklock disappointed in 2022 after the Vikings had traded for him, Otomewo is still a raw project, and Day is a veteran journeyman. Smith is a practice squad guy, while Lynch is better suited as a backup than in the starting lineup.
The Vikings will certainly add more talent to the position. A veteran run-stuffer could be an option in free agency, and bringing back Tomlinson is also still a possibility, but his salary could come close to $10 million per season. That could be too much for the cap-strapped Vikings. Adding a defensive tackle in the draft is also an option. Solid interior defenders can be found in the mid-rounds.
The legal tampering window will open on March 13, when teams are allowed to talk to free-agent players, and the first round of the draft will take place on April 27.
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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