So far, the Vikings’ o-line additions have largely been about improving the top end of the talent.
Tossing center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries into the mix certainly helps with the overall unit’s potential (at least on paper), but those additions have led to subtractions: cutting Garrett Bradbury and trading right guard Ed Ingram. Meanwhile, backup swing tackle Justin Skule has been added while David Quessenberry has been left off the roster (at least so far). Again, the Skule signing raises the team’s floor and ceiling but the overall depth could still use some enhancement.
The Vikings’ O-Line Depth: Signing Trystan Colon
One wonders, then, about an addition such as Trystan Colon, a 26-year-old lineman who has been in the NFL since getting snagged as an UDFA back in 2020.
Colon stands at 6’3″ and weighs 313 pounds. So far, he has put in work with the Ravens, Jets, and Cardinals. Colon’s career has involved getting involved 51 games while picking up 15 starts. Dig down a bit deeper and you’ll see that he has picked up 1,032 career snaps on offense and 151 career snaps on special teams.
What’s so notable is simply that Colon has put in work at various spots.
In his career, Trystan Colon has picked up 323 snaps at left guard, 257 snaps at center, and 425 snaps at right guard. Goodness, he even has 26 snaps at tight end, similar to how Blake Brandel used to get onto the end of the line when there was a desire for a bit more muscle. Last year, Colon earned a very respectable 71.0 grade from PFF.
The main in-house depth consists of the aforementioned Skule alongside Michael Jurgens and Walter Rouse. The final two names — Jurgens and Rouse — are late-round linemen from the 2024 NFL Draft who are well liked by Minnesota’s top decision makers. The problem is simply that they’re both largely unproven after very quiet rookie years.
Consider, as well, that Christian Darrisaw and Fries are working back from serious injuries that took them out of the lineup for most of the 2024 season.
A key, of course, is going to rest in what kind of money Trystan Colon is looking to snag on his next deal. Last season, the depth lineman played on a single-season deal coming in at $1,750,000. The year before was for a single season and $1,410,000. Is he looking for something more robust?
Minnesota is in a nice spot to gain more compensatory picks, so any deal at this stage would need to be modest. If the price is right, though, one wonders about a deal. There’s no such thing as too much depth and Minnesota covets versatile players.
Keep an eye on Trystan Colon’s free agency, someone who makes sense as a bargain add.
Minnesota still has more than $30 million in cap space.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap 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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.