Vikings Miss Out on Ryan Bates, Interior Offensive Line Remains a Concern

The Vikings' most glaring need on the offensive side of the ball is on the interior of their offensive line. Left guard is set with Ezra Cleveland, but center Garrett Bradbury has not developed into a capable pass protector and the right guard position is wide open (Oli Udoh and Wyatt Davis are the in-house options).

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is aware of that. He recently pursued Bills restricted free agent guard Ryan Bates, a 25-year-old with a lot of upside. The Vikings made an offer to Bates, but he ended up signing an offer sheet with the Chicago Bears. The Bills now have to decide whether to match that or not, but either way, Minnesota is out of the running. Bates will end up with the Bears or return to the Bills.

Landing Bates would've been a nice pickup for the Vikings, but there are still plenty of options out there to address the IOL.

J.C. Tretter, released by the Browns this month, is the top center on the market. He won't come cheap, but his pass protection skills could be worth the cost for the Vikings. Tretter is a proven top-tier pass blocker and a good run blocker at the position. However, the Vikings remain in a somewhat difficult salary cap situation and seem unlikely to make a splash at center.

Matt Paradis and Nick Martin are the other available FA centers with extensive starting experience. Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum is viewed as the top center in this year's draft and a likely first-round pick, though it would be very surprising if the Vikings took a first-round center again with a new GM.

The Vikings could also stick with Bradbury for the final year of his rookie contract. Head coach Kevin O'Connell praised the Vikings' center at the NFL combine a few weeks ago.

"Garrett Bradbury in the middle is what you look for from a core center from a standpoint of communicating," O'Connell said. "We do a lot of things. We ask our center to do a lot of things. ... I see a guy [with] really, really good movement skills. Obviously, a guy that was drafted really high for a reason. It’s just been a matter of finding the right fit for him and the right system, and what are you asking him to do snap in and snap out that gives him the best possible chance for success?"

At guard, there are more options. Udoh, Davis, and recent FA signing Austin Schlottmann will presumably get a chance to compete for the RG spot, but the Vikings would be wise to bring in more competition as well.

Almost all of the top FA guards have been signed, but there are still some decent veterans out there — guys like Ereck Flowers, Trai Turner, Quinton Spain, Michael Schofield, and Senio Kelemete. The Vikings could also attempt to trade for a guard or draft one in April.

Missing out on Bates isn't ideal, but the Vikings' interior O-line isn't doomed just yet.

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