The Strange Silence Surrounding the Vikings’ Top Cut Candidate
Ed Ingram, the Vikings’ top cut candidate, is hanging around on Minnesota’s roster. Bit of a surprise, isn’t it?
Many assumed that he would be moved out promptly, clearing precious cap space in an effort to give Kwesi Adofo-Mensah more of something he covets: financial flexibility. Instead, the guard is still calling the Twin Cities home, at least for now. What’s in store for Mr. Ingram?
The Vikings’ Top Cut Candidate: Ed Ingram
By Year 4, Ed Ingram should have solidified himself as a strong starter. After all, he got scooped up at No. 59 overall, at the back of the 2nd.
Instead, Ingram got demoted during the season in favor of Dalton Risner, a left guard who got flipped to right guard for the first time in his career. Risner didn’t relinquish the job, holding onto the RG1 spot the rest of the way.
The LSU alumnus is moving into the final season of his rookie deal. A simple cut would offer financial benefit while leaving behind minimal dead money pain. Moving on would mean saving $3,406,000; staying behind on the books as dead money would be $385,541. If he sticks around for 2025, Ingram will do so with a $3,791,541 cap hit.
Does he deserve to stick around? Consider some of the pass-protection numbers, courtesy of PFF:
| Year | Sacks Allowed | Hits Allowed | Pressures Allowed | Penalties |
| 2022 | 11 | 18 | 58 | 4 |
| 2023 | 5 | 15 | 42 | 7 |
| 2024 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 3 |
As things stand, the Vikings are looking at a front five that looks like this:
- LT Christian Darrisaw
- LG Blake Brandel
- C Ryan Kelly (read more)
- RG Will Fries (read more)
- RT Brian O’Neill
On paper, that front five looks formidable, far superior to recent seasons when the front has been solid but short of spectacular. Of course, the lingering memory for a lot of fans — which is to say nothing of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah alongside HC Kevin O’Connell — is of Sam Darnold getting walloped with 9 sacks in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Clearly, improvement was needed.
Come back around to Ed Ingram. Does it make sense to keep him as a backup? Or, perhaps, is he being shopped in the hope of finding some extra draft capital? Is there a team out there willing to hand over a 6th or 7th for him? Maybe a late-round pick swap? Again, we’re talking about 2nd-Round selection from 2022 who just turned 26.
Will Ragatz of Sports Illustrated responded to the o-line additions with some uncertainty about who would take over at left guard. The final thought: “Still plenty of time to add competition for Brandel/Ingram at left guard.”
For whatever it’s worth, Ingram played left guard in college. Maybe he would feel more comfortable at that spot. If so, then perhaps he could offer some tidier pass protection.
Over the years, Adofo-Mensah has proven to be far more patient than Vikings fans, writers, and analysts. He has also proven to be unafraid of making unpopular decisions. Quite possibly, the intent is to retain Ingram even after the in-season demotion, allowing the guard to have one more shot at proving that he belongs among the starters up front.
If so, then Ed Ingram will need to have a strong offseason, one where considerable growth occurs so that he can help Minnesota transition to the J.J. McCarthy era.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
