McCarthy Will Be Happy: Vikings Bolster Their Offensive Line
The Minnesota Vikings entered free agency with an extensive to-do list. A few hours into the legal tampering window, most boxes remain unchecked. Isaiah Rodgers is currently the major signing on the defensive side, but many more need to be made.
McCarthy Will Be Happy: Vikings Bolster Their Offensive Line
On the offensive side of the ball, however, the Vikings were in the market for some help, and they got it by signing long-time Colts center Ryan Kelly.
Tom Pelissero reported, “Four-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly is signing with the #Vikings on a two-year, $18 deal, including $9M guaranteed, sources tell me and Ian Rapoport. After nine seasons, Kelly moves on from the Colts and provides a needed upgrade for Minnesota’s interior o-line.”
Most expected a guard to arrive in the Twin Cities and help with the interior protection. Instead, the Vikings sign a center. It remains to be seen whether that means incumbent center Garrett Bradbury is on the chopping block or if either Bradbury or Kelly will move to guard.
Kelly is on the back end of his career at the age of 31. He will turn 32 in May. That means he comes with plenty of NFL experience as a 2016 first-round pick by the Colts, where he spent his entire career up to this point.
He has played in 121 regular season games (all starts) and three in the postseason. In 2020, he was named second-team All-Pro, and he is a four-time Pro Bowler (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023).
His PFF resume is pretty good.
- 2016: 72.4 (20th/38 eligible centers)
- 2017: 60.4 (31st/35)
- 2018: 74.3 (10th/38)
- 2019: 73.0 (8th/35)
- 2020: 68.0 (13th/36)
- 2021: 56.9 (32nd/39)
- 2022: 64.3 (16th/36)
- 2023; 77.2 (8th/36)
- 2024: 67.0 (11th/40)
Just for comparison, Bradbury has ranked better than 23rd once in his career and is coming off a season in which he ranked 27th with a grade of 62.8.
One of Bradbury’s major problems is that he is a solid run blocker but a poor pass protector. Kelly, meanwhile, is a pretty balanced center who can do both at a high level.
It should be noted, though, that Kelly missed a total of ten games in the last two seasons with concussions as well as knee and neck injuries.
After the disappointing playoff loss, head coach Kevin O’Connell suggested that the offensive line would be a point of emphasis:
“There’s no question we’ve got to find a way to be able to give a quarterback, especially with players like Justin (Jefferson), Jordan (Addison), T.J. (Hockenson), we’ve got to find a way to solidify just the interior of the pocket. There can be a thousand excuses made, whether it’s losing [Christian Darrisaw], or even midway through the game losing [Brian O’Neill] tonight, but for me, it’s the foundation of the interior of the pocket that we’re going to have to take a long look at.”
The Vikings will have McCarthy under center in the 2025 season. Regardless of who will take the snaps between Kelly and Bradbury, the sophomore QB will have an experienced man in front of him who can help him set the protections in his first NFL action.
Kelly is familiar with Colts guard Will Fries, who could also be on Minnesota’s wishlist.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt