Bruising Vikings Offensive Lineman Looks Like a Trade Candidate
Back in 2022, the Vikings drafted Vederian Lowe to shore up the offensive tackle depth. The rookie season was modest before Mr. Lowe got sent to New England via trade. Is a different Vikings offensive lineman soon to arrive at a similar fate?
Focus in on Walter Rouse. The backup OT comes in at an imposing 6’6″ and 330 pounds. Note, as well, that he does great work off the field, demonstrating the intangibles and community engagement that teams covet (as they should). The great issue is that he hasn’t been able to crack the lineup with the Vikings even with there being depth issues for Minnesota’s large lads up front.
Vikings Offensive Lineman Walter Rouse a Candidate to Leave
Former Vikings guard Ezra Cleveland got traded in 2023. Doing so cleared the way for Dalton Risner to remain unchallenged as a starter while ensuring that Minnesota didn’t need to hand over an extension to the athletic Cleveland.
The Jaguars welcomed Cleveland, doing so for a 6th. Eventually, that same 6th-Round selection would get used on Mr. Rouse, someone who played offensive tackle in college but who has been whispered as a guard candidate from powerful people in Eagan. So far, Rouse hasn’t had much chance to be either a tackle or a guard.
Seeing a modest rookie season for Rouse wasn’t unexpected. After all, veteran David Quessenberry (now with the Rams) was still functioning as the backup swing tackle. Starters Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill can only be overcome if injury strikes.
The late-round lineman therefore got brought along slowly, allowed to acclimate to the NFL without much pressure to perform early.
Free agency in 2025 led to adding Justin Skule. The plan, quite evidently, was to lean on him as the OT3, an assumption that ended up being accurate. Rouse was the obvious option to be the OT4.
For a while, that appeared to be the path. Walter Rouse played in seven games, with the high point for playing time being in Week 8. That was the game where the Chargers overcame the Vikings by a score of 37-10. Blaming Rouse for that outcome is foolish, but he was out there for 40 snaps on offense alongside 4 snaps on special teams.
After Week 8, Walter Rouse dressed for just one more game: the Week 17 victory over the Lions where he didn’t play on offense but did earn 5 snaps on specials. Getting phased out is a bad sign, especially since there wasn’t even a role on specials.
Do remember that Blake Brandel, a college offensive tackle, remains in town. The do-it-all lineman is the equivalent of a baseball utility player but for the trenches in football. Brandel got tasked with picking up some snaps at OT when there was a need for more help beyond just Skule.
But isn’t that what Rouse was supposed to offer? Not turning to Rouse is telling, especially since the season involved turning to fellow 2024 draftee Michael Jurgens at various points for help along the interior of the o-line.
At the end of the day, there is much that’s uncertain within the Twin Cities. The status of Rouse on the roster is among the many decisions that have to be made in the coming weeks and months.
Prior to getting fired, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah indicated that beefing up the tackle depth was a priority. Maybe the calculus changes without the numbers nerd still sitting in the GM’s chair, but there’s some merit in the mere acknowledgement that the Vikings’ top executive in January publicly discussed wanting more tackle depth for the Vikings offensive line.
Drafting Walter Rouse in the 6th in 2024 was with an eye toward the young fella growing into that precise job: being the trusted depth if injury strikes. Not being confident in him is a bad sign.
As NFL free agency awaits, the Vikings appear to have a lukewarm assessment of the in-house large lad. He may therefore get cut if he isn’t shipped out first.
