Vikings Seem to Say Goodbye to a Sneaky Add from ’25 Offseason
In saying “yes” to OT Ryan Van Demark, the Vikings seem to be saying “no” to OT Justin Skule.
Indeed, roster spots, roles, and cap space are finite. Turning the former Bill into a present-day Viking means that Mr. Skule will need to find employment elsewhere unless he’s content with an unusually low level of compensation from the Vikings.
Vikings Seem Ready to Move on from Justin Skule
Admittedly, the Skule signing wasn’t the one to generate most of the headlines. Rest assured, though, that Minnesota thought highly of the depth tackle.
After all, the injury issues with Christian Darrisaw were well known. Whoever got added to takeover for David Quessenberry — who had previously been the swing tackle — needed to represent a meaningful upgrade. Much was being done to beef up the trenches, most prominently in the meaty money deals for veterans Ryan Kelly and Will Fries before then drafting Donovan Jackson in the 1st. Signing a dud at OT wouldn’t fit with that approach very well.
So, the decision was to bring Mr. Skule to town for a single-season deal coming in at $2 million. Minnesota’s ideal world would involve needing him for a game or two in September as Darrisaw quickly recovered from his knee injury. Afterwards, Skule could pinch hit throughout the season, as needed.
What actually occurred is a far heartier workload, in no small part due to the LT1 never fully getting back to being himself in 2025.
Christian Darrisaw made his debut in Week 3 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Even better, Darrisaw didn’t have to play a huge helping of snaps since that was the 48-10 victory over the Bengals. Carson Wentz did well, Isaiah Rodgers went nuclear, and Darrisaw finished his day with just 38 snaps (roughly 63% of the offense’s total).
Moving forward from Week 3, Darrisaw would see his practice time managed as he stepped into more games in the coming weeks, but he never seemed to fully settle into normal health. His final game arrived in Week 14. Added together, Darrisaw played in ten games, starting all ten.
Meanwhile, Brian O’Neill wasn’t impervious to toil or trouble. He, too, needed time off while getting into action for fourteen games.
As a result, Justin Skule played in sixteen games as a Viking, starting nine. He offered up 462 snaps as a left tackle and 116 snaps as a right tackle. The report card shows 7 sacks, 6 quarterback hits, and 29 pressures. A trio of penalties are on there, as well.
The decision is to move on, at least if the expected occurs.
In fairness, the decision to say goodbye to Justin Skule isn’t totally shocking. At any point, Minnesota could have re-signed him in January, February, or the early portion of March since he was an in-house employee. And then there was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seemingly tipping the team’s hand, publicly explaining (before being fired) that the team would look to improve at OT3.
Some patience was needed, but the Vikings fulfilled Adofo-Mensah’s words by stealing away an RFA talent.
Rolling into the 2026 NFL Draft — assuming, perhaps foolishly, that nobody else gets signed — Minnesota’s OT depth appears like this:
- LT1: Christian Darrisaw
- RT1: Brian O’Neill
- OT3: Ryan Van Demark
- OT4: Walter Rouse
- OT5: Caleb Etienne
Whether that cluster of talent is good enough is up for debate. What’s not debatable is that a healthy top pair of tackles would involve the Vikings boasting a great tandem. Consider, as well, that Blake Brandel can do essentially anything, so he’s also OT depth.
Justin Skule stands at 6’6″ and weighs 315 pounds. At 29, there’s enough gas in the tank to continue playing if he desires to do so.
The Vikings seem ready to reinforce the o-line in the draft and from within undrafted free agency.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
