Alexander Shun | @alexpshun
Digital Content Manager | KFAN.com
Day one of NFL free agency is in the books and the Minnesota Vikings still have a few roster holes to fill. Whether such needs will be addressed in free agency or through the Draft in April remains to be seen; however, with teams all across the league continuing to make moves, I thought it would be helpful to take a look at where the Vikings stand at the midway point of day two of free agency.
ADDITIONS:
Riley Reiff (OT From Lions)
LOSSES:
Jeff Locke (P, Agreed With Colts)
Rhett Ellison ( FB/TE, Agreed With Giants)
Matt Kalil (OT, Agreed With Panthers)
NEEDS:
OT, G, RB, DT, CB
The Vikings lone addition on Thursday was a pretty good one as they added former first-round draft pick Riley Reiff who spent the last five seasons with the Detroit Lions. Reiff fills a huge need and becomes the anchor on an offensive line that was injury-stricken and one of the worst last season. While Reiff is a great start to rebuilding said offensive line, they still have a long way to go, needing another quality offensive tackle and guard to really solidify the front five.
At this point in free agency, the top-tier tackles have all been scooped up but the team could bring in a veteran tackle to fill the spot in the short-term which is seemingly what they're trying to do with tackle Mike Remmers.
Remmers is a veteran tackle that is set to visit with the Vikings soon and, should he sign with the team, would be a serviceable short-term fix.
Guard is the position where Minnesota can still really cash in though.
T.J. Lang is the best guard remaining in free agency and while the Vikings have no reported visits or interest of yet, perhaps they should. Lang was one of the building blocks of a Green Bay Packers offensive line that kept Aaron Rodgers upright for a good majority of the season.
There are those that question how good Lang truly is given Rodgers' innate ability to scramble and move outside the pocket, but even when contained to the pocket, Lang held up well. The Vikings could, at the very least, give him a call and see what his price would be because adding a player of Lang's quality would grade out to be a successful free agency period for the offensive line.
Another position of need is running back.
After declining the contract option on Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are in search of a running back to fill the void left by the former first-round pick. Enter Eddie Lacy...potentially.
A report surfaced yesterday that Lacy, the former Packers running back, was set to visit with the Vikings and while there was no clarity as to when said visit would take place, it is assumed that it will take place sooner rather than later.
Lacy proved to be a solid back when healthy during his time in Green Bay, the issues with Lacy was that he had trouble staying healthy and could not remain at a reasonable playing weight. While the weight issues are said to be behind him, Lacy is still coming off a season in which he played only five games and suffered an foot injury that required surgery.
If the Vikings decide that Lacy is not worth the risk, they will likely end up waiting for the draft as the rest of the running back class in free agency is rather weak and there is a strong selection of backs available in the Draft. However, should the Vikings get Lacy to put pen to paper, that will likely spell the end of Peterson's time in the purple and gold.
The last positions of need for Minnesota are at defensive tackle and cornerback.
Defensive tackle would admittedly be to add depth to a position that has a serious question mark in Sharrif Floyd.
Floyd's $6.76 million contract became guaranteed on Thursday meaning that, barring a trade, the former first-round pick will be on the roster come week one. But Floyd has a history of injuries which could - if he were to suffer another injury - cause depth and rotational issues on the defensive line. So why not bring in an insurance policy?
Dontari Poe and Jonathan Hankins are starters and expensive insurance policies at that so they are more than likely out of the question, however guys like Jared Odrick and Sylvester Williams could be solid additions.
Both would be inexpensive additions and both would be on short term deals. Odrick is looking to prove he is worthy of a long-term deal and Williams, a former first-round pick, has the potential but has yet to show it.
Captain Munnerlyn is a free agent so the Vikings will need to either re-sign the veteran cornerback or find a new nickel corner. While the top cornerbacks on the free agent market have been picked up, the Draft is, as some scouts and analysts have said, "historically deep" at the cornerback position, meaning Minnesota should have no problem finding Munnerlyn's replacement.
As I said, the Vikings still have a lot of work to do and a lot of questions to answer, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, but they have signed Reiff and that not only fills a huge need but it is also a step in the right direction.