The Vikings’ Offensive Line Has Been Ravaged
Nobody was more excited than I was when the Minnesota Vikings went big on their offensive line during the offseason. Unfortunately, just four weeks into the season, the new-look Vikings offensive line has been decimated by injuries and will be giving Kevin O’Connell a headache as he takes his team into Week 5.
VikingsTerritory looks at the injuries that have decimated the Vikings’ offensive line through the first four weeks of the season.
The five-man group of Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill has yet to step on the field together. With Darrisaw’s knee injury from last season lingering into the start of this year, we thought we would have to wait a few weeks to see the new look Vikings offensive line together.
As Minnesota heads to London for a Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns and their formidable defensive front, we are left wondering if we will ever see it.
O’Neill went down early in the game against Pittsburgh and had a scan on his injured knee on Monday. The two-time Pro Bowler and stalwart right tackle was injured on a successful field goal attempt in the first quarter. Time on the shelf is on the cards after the scan results revealed an MCL sprain.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell suggested that was the case postgame, and while O’Neill will be missed while he is assessed on a week-to-week basis, it could have been much worse. O’Neill won’t be heading to Injured Reserve.
Justin Skule was signed to cover for Darrisaw until he got healthy. A veteran of five seasons across spells with San Francisco and Tampa Bay, Skule struggled at left tackle in the first two games, and he didn’t find life any easier on the right side in Dublin.
The prospect of a lengthy spell of Skuke as a starter isn’t exactly thrilling. The other option would be to turn to second-year player Walter Rouse. Minnesota’s 2025 first-round draft pick, Jackson, provided reason for optimism with an impressive debut, but a wrist injury that required surgery currently has him sidelined. Last season’s left guard, Blake Brandel, is back in the lineup for now.
Major Concerns over Vikings Center Ryan Kelly
In recent years, the world of sport has taken a very serious look at how it treats concussions, and the NFL is no different. When a player starts to have multiple concussions, you begin to fear for their future in the game. Especially when they are a 32-year-old veteran like the Vikings center. Kelly missed last week’s game after being knocked out of the Week 2 game because of a concussion. He returned in Week 4, but after playing in the first two quarters on Sunday, he didn’t return for the second half.
These aren’t the first concussions of Kelly’s career, with the total now at five, including a couple in 2023.
Asked whether any larger conversations about Kelly’s career were necessary, O’Connell said: “Clearly the health of our players is always the … beginning, middle and end. So, we’ll totally defer to the doctors, and we’ll defer to the protocol, and ultimately, we’re going to want to make sure Ryan is in a good place. That’s not anything I particularly ever want to mess around with. We’ll be smart, and at the same time, it’s definitely not my lane to weigh in on those things until the medical staff or we get to that place.”
We await more news on Kelly, but even if he returns to the field, the lingering concern will remain. Michael Jurgens will continue to deputize for Kelly for as long as is needed. He has found it tough so far, with 4 four penalties, particularly being an area that needs cleaning up. I would expect Jurgens to play in London on Sunday, with the Vikings hoping he settles in and plays better against that formidable Browns defense.
Onlookers rightfully fear the worst for Carson Wentz and the Vikings this weekend.
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