The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of a two-game skid after their Thursday night loss against the Los Angeles Rams. With that loss, the Vikings are in danger of slipping into a tie for last place in the ultra-competitive NFC North division.
Worse than the slip in rankings and the losing streak, however, is the injury news the team received on Friday.
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw was injured late in the first half of Thursday’s game when his left leg got rolled up on by Rams’ safety Jaylen McCollough. On Friday, the news came down that Darrisaw had torn both his ACL and MCL, and would require surgery to repair the ligaments.
That surgery would put Darrisaw on the shelf for the rest of the season, and it leaves the Vikings with the question of how to cope with the loss of one of the best left tackles in the league.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has said that he and the staff will evaluate everyone on the roster come up with the “5 best offensive linemen moving forward”. Swing tackle David Quessenberry replaced Darrisaw on Thursday, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be the permanent solution.
Left guard Blake Brandel has experience at tackle, and guard Dalton Risner is poised to return to the lineup. That could factor into O’Connell’s decision.
There’s also the possibility the team could look to external candidates to fill the void. The NFL’s trade deadline is coming up, and there may be some good options along the offensive line available. However, the Vikings have limited resources to pull off a trade.
If the Vikings are going to bring someone from outside the organization in, it’s likely to be a free agent. But who’s still out there the Vikings could call? Here are five options currently on the free agent market.
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