Better Late Than Never: Stalwart Viking Invited to the Pro Bowl
The Minnesota Vikings finished a remarkable regular season with a disappointing playoff defeat in the first round. Still, the phenomenal 14-3 season put numerous coaches and players on the map. Pass rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard will head to their first Pro Bowl for their contributions.
Better Late Than Never: Stalwart Viking Named to the Pro Bowl
The dynamic passing duo of quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Justin Jefferson will join them, along with cornerback Byron Murphy and long snapper Andrew DePaola.
Following the Championship Games on Sunday, the NFL named the replacements for the guys who made it to the final NFL game. All Eagles and Chiefs players are excused from the All-Star weekend to prepare for the Super Bowl.
One longtime Viking has been the beneficiary of one of those absences. Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson will miss the Pro Bowl, opening the door for veteran Brian O’Neill to take his spot, the official team account announced.
O’Neill has played another excellent season with the Vikings. Unfortunately, in the season’s final game, the lineman suffered a concussion, forcing him to depart from the matchup with the Rams and standout rookie Jared Verse early.
Regardless, he has been the epitome of reliability throughout the years with the purple team. It was his seventh season with the club. Former GM Rick Spielman acquired the former University of Pittsburgh blocker in the 2018 draft.
Expected to be a project, he entered the starting lineup a few games into the season and has handled Minnesota’s right tackle duties ever since, playing in 110 regular season games (106 starts) and three in the postseason. His play has been reliable, and he has shown some toughness during his tenure with the Vikings.
Late in the 2022 season, in the disastrous blowout loss against the Packers, O’Neill tried to hunt down an interception return, and he partially ruptured his Achilles in the process. It was fair to wonder whether he could play in Week 1 of the following season.
O’Neill slowly ramped up his workload in training camp. At first, he did some individual drills, then team drills without contact, and ultimately, full contact drills. In late August, with less than three weeks to go before Week 1, he said: “Confidence-wise, I’m ready to go if we had a game tomorrow, I’m out there and I’m going to play 100% of the snaps.”
In that 2023 season, O’Neill suffered a broken bone in his foot, costing him a total of three games. But he still played through it to help his team against the Packers with the playoffs on the line. The Vikings failed to sweep the green rivals, but O’Neill was still out there despite the pain.
A year later, he is headed to his second Pro Bowl. The event has lost its shine in the last decade, but players still want to be there. It helps them in the next contract negotiations, and it’s always nice to get some well-deserved recognition.
For O’Neill, it definitely is deserved. He has been fantastic since arriving in the Twin Cities, and 2024 might have been his best season to date.
The Vikings have their right tackle under contract for two more seasons. He is scheduled to enter free agency in 2027.
To this point, the two-time Pro Bowler has earned every penny of that $92.5 million contract. The 29-year-old has been one of the most consistent players on the team for years, and the Pro Bowl nomination is a sweet reward.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Focus 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