Today Alone, The Vikings Added More than 2,000 Pounds to the Offensive Line

For a minute or two, the Vikings had a lean offensive line, which is quite possibly the worst place for a football team to be lean.

No longer.

GM Nolan Teasley didn’t allow the Vikings to languish with just eight offensive linemen for very long. The new front office executive snagged C Nick Samac and G Trevor Keegan off of waivers. Afterwards, there were five offensive linemen added to the practice squad, pushing the overall tally to north of 2,000 pounds added along the OL. Whoever is working the team cafeteria is going to need to get the grills working overtime.

The Vikings Added North of 2K Pounds to OL

With the understanding that the roster remains a work in progress, the Vikings now have a 53-man roster alongside most of a practice squad. Consider how things look up front:

Keep in mind, folks, that not all ten of these guys are going to be active on Sunday. Very likely, one or two are going to be in street clothes (TE Josh Oliver has been the emergency OL in the past, if memory serves). What’s nevertheless encouraging for the Vikings is that the depth is now where it needs to be.

Further improving the depth is the presence of five o-linemen for the practice squad. Teasley signed OT Tristan Leigh, OT Jack Nelson, G Joshua Gray, G Henry Byrd, and C Gavin Gerhardt. Of those names, only Nelson is a newcomer in Minnesota.

Go ahead and do a basic tally for all of the added pounds. The weights for each guy:

• Nick Samac — 317 Pounds
• Trevor Keegan — 315 Pounds
• Gavin Gerhardt — 310 Pounds
• Henry Byrd — 314 Pounds
• Joshua Gray — 299 Pounds
• Tristan Leigh — 312 Pounds
• Jack Nelson — 314 Pounds

Math has never been a strength in my life, but the combined weight of these seven additions and re-additions sits at 2,181 pounds.

In a perfect world, the added linemen function as the bodyguards for Kyler Murray, who is stepping into the job of Commander in Chief of the Minnesota Vikings. President Murray needs to be defended at all costs, so the combined effort of the ten offensive linemen on the active roster and five offensive linemen on the practice squad is to see no harm come to the unusually elusive QB1.

So, too, do these guys want to function as bulldozers for the ground game. In what is now a bizarre yearly tradition, Kevin O’Connell is making public promises about running the football. Seeing the large lads do their part by displacing defenders would certainly help the Vikings’ cause.

In Week 1, the Green Bay Packers will be coming to town. The large lads will earn praise aplenty if Murray’s jersey doesn’t get dirty against the NFC North foe.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.