Even after re-signing guard Dalton Risner — who started the final 11 games for Minnesota in 2023 –, a report came out that the Vikings’ plans were to still start Blake Brandel in 2024.
When Kevin O’Connell went to the podium on Tuesday to talk to reporters, the Risner signing came up, along with what the plans were for the offensive line moving forward. O’Connell said Minnesota wants to play the best five players, and bringing a veteran like Risner back will create a competitive situation.
“Blake has been a guy, really since he’s gotten here, he’s been asked to really be ready to play two or three different spots at one time. So our challenge to Blake was to really embrace that left guard spot through the spring. Really get, you know, the teaching and the mastery of your craft at one spot, which he really hasn’t been able to do, since he’s been a Minnesota Viking.
We’ve seen the gains off that between not only Blake, but his fit, amongst those five offensive linemen. And then, there was a purpose and a plan of bringing Dalton back to create a very competitive situation at that left guard spot. We want to play the best five guys we can. You could see a bunch of different combinations of guys in there, especially as we try to allow that competition to naturally kind of play out.”
Risner’s contract details also came out, and they aren’t those of a starting-caliber offensive lineman in the NFL. He signed a one-year deal worth a total of $2.41 million. For comparison, Brandel re-signed with the Vikings for three years and up to $9.5 million.
