Titans Sign Former Vikings Blocker
The Minnesota Vikings have reshaped their offensive line this offseason. Ex-Colts blockers Will Fries and Ryan Kelly were acquired to finally solidify the unit after years of struggles. Head coach Kevin O’Connell voiced frustration after the playoff loss, and hopefully, gone are the days of interior problems.
Titans Sign Former Vikings Blocker
Some names still appear in the nightmares of Vikings fans. We all watched Dru Samia, Dakota Dozier, and Pat Elflein play guard.
Another guy the Vikings gave a shot was Oli Udoh in the 2021 season. A converted tackle, Udoh primarily struggled with penalties and actually led the league in that category. He is now headed towards Tennessee.
TitanSized.com‘s Justin Melo wrote last week: “The Tennessee Titans made four moves on the offensive line on Thursday. The highlight of their transactions was to release former third-round NFL Draft bust Nicholas Petit-Frere. Elsewhere, they added three veteran offensive linemen to the roster in Sam Mustipher, Brenden Jaimes, and Oli Udoh.”
Melo added, “The Titans are now in the market for a swing tackle behind Dan Moore Jr. and JC Latham after releasing Petit-Frere. Udoh joins a cast of deep back-end roster players that includes Jaelyn Duncan and John Ojukwu. It remains to be seen where the Titans will primarily play Blake Hance, a versatile free-agent signing who previously played guard and tackle for offensive line coach Bill Callahan in Cleveland.”
If you’re looking for a backup tackle, Udoh is your guy. He had some success in that role in the Twin Cities, just trying him at guard might not be the best idea.
Udoh was selected in the sixth round in 2019. The 193rd pick out of Elon possessed fantastic athleticism and size at 6-6, 323 pounds, which negated the lower-level college competition and made it worth a shot late in the draft. Rick Spielman took a bet on potential.
The large human being made the team in his rookie season and avoided any practice-squad shenanigans that many other late-rounders have to go through. He appeared in one game in 2019 and held up against star edge rusher Khalil Mack, followed by six appearances in 2020. The lineman logged 35 combined snaps on offense and 27 on special teams through his first couple of seasons.
His breakthrough came in 2021 when the Vikings moved him to right guard, a strange move because of his long arms and because he had never played guard before. He started 16 games and played over 1,000 snaps, but he predictably struggled at his new position. When the new regime was hired, O’Connell moved him back to tackle. Udoh became the backup right tackle.
He quietly played well down the stretch following Brian O’Neill’s Achilles injury. In the following season, he started at left tackle in place of Christian Darrisaw, who missed the game with an ankle injury and suffered a season-ending quad tear in that Week 2 game.
Udoh was not retained in the 2024 offseason and signed with the Saints, where he appeared in 14 games with one start.
Throughout his career, Udoh has played 57 games and logged 19 starts. He just turned 28 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Making Room for the Draft? Vikings Say Goodbye to 2 Players.