The Minnesota Vikings moved to bring back left guard Dalton Risner on May 29th on a one-year contract. They chose to make the move a few months earlier than last season when the Vikings signed Risner after their week two loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bringing in competition was important at left guard. Blake Brandel is the entrenched starter but he's never been a starter in his career and hasn't played much guard after being a left tackle in college and his first few seasons in the NFL.
The contract details for Risner weren't released right away, which is a signal that it's a very team-friendly contract and the Vikings did get a bargain. Over The Cap has the details on Risner's contract and it's great for the Vikings.
- Base salary: $1.41 million
- Signing bonus: $500k
- Per game roster bonuses: $500k
- Guaranteed salary: $600k
- Salary cap hit: $2.41 million
- Dead cap if cut: $1.1 million
This is a huge bargain for the Vikings, as guards were getting $9 million plus to be a starter during free agency this March. Now, Risner isn't an elite player, but he is more than a capable enough starter who has a rapport with offensive line coach Chris Kuper.
The Moneyball approach from Adofo-Mensah is a bold one, but also has merit. Guard is arguably the least important singular position on offense, especially when you consider that a good offensive line is more about the sum of its parts rather than a singular player. Brandel is making $3.16 million AAV and Ed Ingram is on a rookie contract. If this works for the Vikings, that value will be massive.
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