Things Got So Ugly That Vikings Considered an ‘Emergency Offensive Lineman’
Down bad. That’s how the Minnesota Vikings felt last Sunday in Ireland as offensive linemen dropped like flies — on top of offensive linemen (and players of other positions) dropping like flies before the Week 4 game. The injuries piled so high against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the loss that Minnesota considered an emergency offensive lineman: tight end Josh Oliver.
Injuries have tormented the Minnesota Vikings through four weeks so viciously that one unsung playmaker was on deck for offensive line duty.
That mountain of man almost saw the field as a guard or center last weekend.
Vikings Nearly Used Tight End Josh Oliver as a Lineman
A rough state of affairs for a team socked by injuries.
Kevin O’Connell Says Josh Oliver Was on Deck for OL Duty in Ireland
There was a stretch in Ireland when the Vikings lost right tackle Brian O’Neill to a sprained MCL, center Ryan Kelly to a concussion, and two other linemen briefly (center Michael Jurgens and guard Joe Huber). At the time, Minnesota may not have had enough human bodies to form an offensive line for the following drive.
And according to O’Connell, Oliver was the next man up had Jurgens or Huber not been cleared to reenter the game. Oliver is the team’s TE2 and is 6’5″ + 270 pounds, so he might’ve held his own for a few minutes.
Yikes on Injuries
Minnesota has entered a true infirmary this season, with injuries so far affecting notable players Blake Cashman, Christian Darrisaw, C.J. Ham, Donovan Jackson, Aaron Jones, Ryan Kelly, J.J. McCarthy, Rondale Moore, Brian O’Neill, Jeff Okudah, Harrison Smith, and Andrew Van Ginkel.
It’s relentless. The list didn’t even reference backup players.
In that vein, it’s no wonder O’Connell contemplated using Oliver in an emergency capacity. What other choice did he have?
The Current OL Group
To set the table for what Minnesota has faced, these are the team’s offensive linemen at the moment:
Christian Darrisaw (LT)
Donovan Jackson (LG) | Injured
Ryan Kelly (C) | Injured
Will Fries (RG)
Brian O’Neill (RT) | Injured
Justin Skule (OT)
Michael Jurgens (C)
Joe Huber (G)
Henry Byrd (G) | Practice Squad
Vershon Lee (C) | Practice Squad
Max Pircher (OT) | Practice Squad
Matt Waletzko (OT) | Practice Squad
Zeke Correll (C) | Injured
Matt Nelson (T) | Injured
It’s worth noting that during the spring and summer, the offensive line was supposed to be a team strength for once. Yet, due to the injuries, it has struggled tremendously, allowing the most sacks in the NFL through four games.
Here’s to hoping good health will return — and stay. It’s not normal for a team to ponder playing the TE2 on the offensive line.
Reinforcements on the Way?
Waletzko, mentioned above, joined the fun on Tuesday, another emergency-type signing in the wake of the injuries. He’s reportedly flying to London for Week 5.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness on the newcomer Waletzko: “The Vikings were getting into a borderline desperate situation if they had one more injury on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially with Walter Rouse inactive for the game.”
“They addressed it on Tuesday by signing offensive tackle Matt Waletzko to the practice squad and releasing wide receiver Tim Jones. Waletzko is a Minnesota native, attending Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota. He also attended the University of North Dakota and played well enough for the Dallas Cowboys to select him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.”
The best-case scenario is for none of the practice squad guys to see significant action. Minnesota just needs to heal from all these bumps and bruises.
“His NFL career was mostly derailed by shoulder injuries, and he ended up getting released in August of 2025. He has the ability to be a swing tackle for the Vikings, and could end up getting elevated for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns,” Forness added.
“Hopefully, this is only a one-week issue with O’Neill, Jackson, and Kelly potentially returning after the bye in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles. If there was another injury, tight end Josh Oliver might have been forced into action.”
Minnesota may even add more practice squad depth before Sunday to avoid the “Oliver problem” of playing a tight end on the offensive line.
Kevin O’Connell on Brian O’Neill
O’Connell said about O’Neill, who dodged an MCL tear: “He avoided the serious-nature knee injuries that, when you first go out there as a head coach and you see him down like that, you’re glad you can rule out a lot of those other things. I would consider him week-to-week, and with where our bye is, I don’t necessarily see short-term IR as being a necessity at this point, just because, with the rules of that not counting toward that time frame.”
“What this allows him to do is he can be totally, 100% committed to his rehab here, because he’s doing his rehab where he sleeps. It’s as simple as walking down the hall to go to Vice President of Player Health and Performance Tyler Williams in the group’s rehab room, and then, during the bye week, we’ll get him wherever we can, and then we’ll see where he’s at coming out of the bye.”
The severity of O’Neill’s sprain should be revealed in the coming days or weeks. No IR trip is encouraging.
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