Former Vikings Starter Expected to Be a Goner
The offseason is about to heat up, with the franchise tag window already opened and free agency just a few weeks away. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be active because about half the roster is scheduled to exit via free agency.
Former Vikings Starter Expected to Be a Goner
The Vikings need to rebuild the secondary, and the Sam Darnold decision is looming. Among the top impending free agents are cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., Cam Bynum, and Aaron Jones.
However, Adofo-Mensah might put one guy on the chopping block he had acquired in the 2022 draft: Ed Ingram.
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling wrote last week, “Ingram, 26, lost his starting job in 2024, but he’d be in line for an even higher cap number in 2025, thanks to the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator program that would raise his base salary to $5.2 million for 2025. It seems highly unlikely he’d return at that number; the Vikings would take on only $385,000 of dead money if they cut him.”
Arriving in the second round, Ingram was supposed to become the starter at the right guard spot for years to come, but he could never solidify the position.
Upgrading the offensive line to have one of the best blocking units in the country has been a wish of Vikings fans for years. Because the two tackles are set with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, the Vikings must address the interior of the line.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the disappointing playoff loss that he wants to fix the interior of the offensive line, “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.”
Ingram has appeared in 48 games with the Vikings, starting 41. Then, however, the coaching staff inserted Risner in Week 11, and he never returned to the field on offense. His PFF resume is shaky:
- 2022: 57.0 (57/77 eligible guards)
- 2023: 59.5 (38/79)
- 2024: 54.0 (67/77)
Ingram has always been a solid run blocker, but his pass protection is quite disastrous. In consecutive offseasons, there was some speculation about a possible jump in the following year, but it hasn’t happened.
Tyler Booker, an expected first-round guard from the University of Alabama, could give the unit a boost. In free agency, a fan darling has been Trey Smith, who protected Patrick Mahomes’s right side in the last four years.
Ingram just turned 26. It’s a long shot that he can ever live up to the second-round draft status, and he might have played his final game in purple.
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