Report: Vikings RT Brian O’Neill Could Be Back for Start of Training Camp
Josh Frey
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If you asked a Vikings fan when the 2022 season seemed to truly begin slipping away, the answer you got very likely would have been the Week 17 game against the Green Bay Packers.
Not only did Minnesota suffer a blowout loss at Lambeau which cost them the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but they also lost Pro Bowl RT Brian O’Neill in the process to a partially torn Achilles.
That torn Achilles sidelined O’Neill for the remainder of the season, and many worried that due to the debilitating nature of Achilles injuries in the NFL, it may impact his ability to play in 2023 as well.
However, according to recent tweets from Darren Wolfson of KSTP, not only is O’Neill looking like he will be ready to suit up for Week 1 of the 2023 season, but he is “trending to be ready for [the] start of training camp.”
O’Neill, a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, largely has been the picture of health throughout his career. After starting 11 games in his rookie season, he has not started fewer than 15 games in a season since, and 2022 was the first season in which he missed time due to injury.
Especially in recent years, O’Neill has been one of the best right tackles in the NFL, and for his efforts, he earned a Pro Bowl nomination in 2021 while also getting a 5-year/$92.5 million contract extension that will keep him in a Vikings uniform through the 2026 season. If O’Neill is truly set to go for the start of the 2023 season, that is great news for Minnesota.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.