A bit lost in the shuffle, perhaps, due to all the news surrounding the NFL postseason and coaching craziness.
The Vikings made a move last week to fortify their offensive line depth. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah brought offensive tackle Trevor Reid to town (previously, the lineman completed a workout with the team). As Craig Peters confirms on the team’s website, Adofo-Mensah’s decision to sign Reid is about fortifying the future depth by creating more offseason competition, not gaining an extra option for the team’s postseason push: “He is not eligible to play during the postseason but will be in line to join the team for the 2025 offseason program this spring.”
Vikings Sign a New Offensive Lineman
Only 24, Reid is built like an NFL offensive tackle. He stands at 6’5″ and weighs 307 pounds.
Lance Zierlein of the NFL’s website offered some scouting insight leading into the draft. There’s upside in Reid even if there are concerns, too: “If the long-armed, high-cut offensive tackle is to have a chance in the league, it will be because of his pass-protection potential. Reid does a nice job of utilizing his length to punch and stay connected to rushers, but his lack of upper-body and hand strength are major liabilities at the point of attack and against power rushers. Reid is a decent athlete but needs to become much stronger in his core to improve his balance and body control. He appears to lack the polish to make an NFL roster early on but has some developmental traits that might warrant a stint on a practice squad.”
Zierlein argues that Reid ought to get scooped up in the 7th or be a “priority free agent.”
During this past season, Reid took his services north, playing his football in the Canadian Football League.
Consider the update from Peters: “Reid is joining the Vikings from the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he was the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie in 2024. He started all 18 regular-season games, as well as the Western Semi-Final.”
Peters goes on to offer some more background information: “Reid originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia [Eagles] following the 2023 NFL Draft out of Louisville. After being waived by the Eagles in August of 2023, Reid signed with the Atlanta Falcons, spending two weeks with the team before being waived during final roster cutdowns. A native of Griffin, Georgia, Reid played 33 games, including 24 starts, in three seasons at Louisville (2020-22), after spending the first two years of his college career at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville.”
Currently, the Vikings find themselves in a good spot at offensive tackle. The Christian Darrisaw/Brian O’Neill duo is among the most formidable in the NFL. The one concern, of course, is that each have battled through injuries in recent seasons. In fact, Darrisaw is currently working back from a season-ending injury.
Behind the top pair of tackles are David Quessenberry (the steady veteran) and Walter Rouse (the upside rookie). Both have a good chance of sticking around in 2025 as depth options, but that remains to be seen. A competition is going to take place, so each will need to re-earn their roles.
Cam Robinson is the current starter at left tackle. Adofo-Mensah pulled off a trade with Jacksonville to get him to town, but that was a decision aimed at fortifying the vacancy left over from Darrisaw’s injury. Re-signing Robinson is extremely unlikely given that he’s a starting-level left tackle and Minnesota already has their LT1 of the present and the future in Darrisaw.
Minnesota’s current starting five is going to get put to the test as it looks to slow down the Los Angeles Rams tonight in the final game of the NFL’s Wild Card Round. Players like Braden Fiske (8.5 sacks), Kobie Turner (8.0 sacks), Byron Young (7.5 sacks), and Jared Verse (4.5 sacks) provide reason for concern.
Kickoff takes place at 7 p.m. CT.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.