Right lineman Brian O’Neill of the Minnesota Vikings departed the team’s Week 14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders with a sprained left ankle that could prevent him from playing for the rest of the season, which is very important.
Guard Ed Ingram missed his first-ever game due to a hip injury, and guard Dalton Risner departed the game after playing just a few snaps due to an increasing number of injuries on the offensive line. With four games remaining in the season, Bleacher Report is urging the Minnesota Vikings to sign veteran La’el Collins, since the team almost ran out of bodies on the offensive line in their 3-0 victory over the Raiders.
On December 11, the staff of Bleacher Report said, “It would be wise to bring in a veteran offensive lineman with experience playing guard and tackle just in case either of those two has to miss time.”
O’Neill, the team’s prized right tackle who inked a five-year, $95 million contract in 2021, may be replaced by Collins, an ideal, versatile player with seven years of starting experience, if he is sidelined for an extended period of time.
The Star Tribune said that O’Neill was spotted departing Las Vegas while using a walking boot.
Collins was a projected top-10 pick in the 2015 draft, but he was not selected because he was involved in the police investigation into the death of Brittany Mills, a 29-year-old pregnant woman.
Despite having a prior relationship with Mills, Collins was not a suspect and was contacted by Baton Rouge authorities following the draft. Teams were hesitant to use a first-round pick in the draft in the absence of a public police exoneration. Collins’ agent further compounded this hesitation by threatening to have Collins sit out the entire season if he was selected outside of the third round.
Collins easily overcome a difficult start to his career. After signing a two-year, $15.4 million agreement to become the Dallas Cowboys’ permanent right tackle in 2017, he earned a starting position at left guard in his rookie season.
Collins played right tackle in all 16 games in 2018, helping Dak Prescott toss for more than 4,000 yards and Ezekiel Elliott to capture the NFL running title with 1,434 yards on the ground.
Collins was a member of an offensive line that allowed a league-low 23 sacks in 2019 and earned a hefty five-year, $50 million agreement before to the start of the season. That season, he was ranked as the fifth-highest tackle by Pro Football Focus.
Collins suffered a neck injury in an automobile accident that ended his career in Dallas, forcing him to miss the 2020 campaign. After Terence Steele, the current starting right tackle, emerged in 2021, he was dismissed from his position after starting 10 of the 12 games he played.
After signing a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2022 campaign, Collins played in 15 games as a starter before tearing his ACL and MCL. During the preseason, he was placed on the team’s physically unable to perform list (PUP), but in September, he was released.
O’Neill, a right tackle in the Pro Bowl, has been having some difficulty lately. O’Neill gave up two sacks and a season-high six pressures to the Chicago Bears in Week 12 prior to the Vikings’ bye week.
On December 10, in Las Vegas, his difficulties passing protect against Montez Sweat also became apparent. Maxx Crosby, an edge rusher for the Raiders, had two sacks in the first half, including a strong rush against O’Neill that caused the Vikings lineman to falter after establishing his anchor and get hurt.
O’Neill ties his career-high of six sacks in a single season with his two sacks allowed against the Raiders. Additionally, he is just one pressure away from tying his career-worst 31 allowed pressures.
