Very Soon, The Vikings Could Turn Attention Toward Extending a Towering Behemoth
Lately, the extension focus has been on Josh Metellus, someone who deserves a beefy raise. The Vikings could nevertheless look elsewhere when it comes to the next extension.
More specifically, one wonders about the behemoth at right tackle: Mr. Brian O’Neill. The team captain stands at 6’7″ — tied for tallest on the team — and tips the scales at 310 pounds, an ideal build to play offensive tackle in the NFL. Bringing it all together is the veteran’s compete, work ethic, athleticism, and ruggedness. Any chance he sees his deal adjusted as the GM looks to get ahead of the salary cap sticks?
Why the Vikings Could Extend Brian O’Neill
Consider one simple solution: leaning on the stud at right tackle before moving on next offseason. The approach would be a controversial one, to be sure, and yet the upside is that the team would recoup $19.5 million in cap space.
The downside, of course, would rest in saying goodbye to one of the team’s stalwart players.
Mr. O’Neill’s game is aging very well. In fact, one could argue that he’s finding a way to keep ascending, pushing his game higher as his career has progressed. O’Neill suffers from playing in an NFL with tremendous right tackles such as Lane Johnson and Penei Sewell, excellent players who overshadow the Vikings’ O’Neill, someone who quietly adheres to a very high standard.
Look around to some available resources that are out there to help us gain a sense of the tackle’s abilities.
On PFF, O’Neill came in at 16th among NFL tackles in 2024 with a healthy 79.3 grade. Not elite, but very good. ESPN’s pass block win rate puts Brian O’Neill at 3rd best in the NFL for the 2024 season. According to Next Gen Stats, Sam Darnold finished last season with a 3.08 time to throw, 3rd-highest in the NFL, meaning O’Neill had to block for longer than a lot of his peers.
Add these tidbits into the eye test, the ability to assess how a player is performing just based on watching the games. Hard to argue against the idea that Brian O’Neill isn’t playing football at a high level, so bring things back around to the idea of an extension.
If there’s good evidence to believe that the veteran right tackle isn’t just playing well at present — he has been — but that he’ll continue to play well in the future, then an extension makes good sense. Seems basic, but don’t miss the point. Football is a “what have you done for me lately?” kind of business. The only thing that matters, in a sense, is what a player is going to do, not what he has done. In other words, the Vikings’ decision makers are going to look at recent history and then project forward, hoping that O’Neill’s past excellence foreshadows future excellence.
If that can be determined — ongoing strong play from Brian O’Neill as he moves into his 30s — then an extension has appeal.
Left untouched, O’Neill’s contract will run for two more seasons. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could simply opt to let things ride, allowing the veteran to work through those years and deal with the issue following the 2026 season. The downside with that approach is that O’Neill would see the full weight of his $26,019,114 cap charge in 2025 to hit the books and then his $23,203,892 charge hit in 2026.
Any merit in an extension as a way of starting to proactively address next season’s mountain of debt? O’Neill could get extended right now, a decision that could free up close to $13 million in 2025. In theory, that’s open room that Minnesota may carry over to 2026. Alternatively, there could be an extension next offseason, a move that possibly carves out $14.16 million for the cap.
The motive for an extension is therefore multiple. Extending Brian O’Neill means keeping an excellent player for longer. So, too, does it mean carving out cap room in the short term, an approach that welcomes present-day savings at the cost of future financial flexibility. Provided the team is as competitive as it hopes, Adofo-Mensah could be willing to make that trade off.
Brian O’Neill will turn 30 on September 15th. He will be working from within his eighth NFL season after Minnesota made him the No. 62 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. All of his 110 NFL games have arrived with horns on his helmet.
An extension from Adofo-Mensah could ensure that O’Neill never plays a snaps for a team other than the Vikings.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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