Moneyball, Expensive, or Bargain: 3 Vikings OG Options in Free Agency

Free agency begins on March 10th with the legal tampering window, and players can officially sign with their new teams two days later. The Vikings have roughly $63 million to fill numerous roster holes like cornerback, running back, and safety.

Moneyball, Expensive, or Bargain: 3 Vikings OG Options in Free Agency

Fans, however, would also like some reinforcements along the offensive line after the front didn’t hold up against the Lions and the Rams in the two late-season defeats.

Let’s check three options, from expensive to cheap.

Expensive: Will Fries

The first man is former Colts guard Will Fries. Of course, the elephant in the room is Chiefs right guard Trey Smith, but the Super Bowl runner-ups decided to keep him in the building via the franchise tag. He will not be available for the Vikings.

Fries, however, will turn 27 in April and is coming off an excellent season whenever he was on the field. Unfortunately, a fractured tibia cost him the majority of the season. He played in only five games but earned an elite PFF grade of 86.9 in those contests.

His asking price could reach $15 million per season, but he would immediately end any problems at the right guard position.

Cheap: Laken Tomlinson

Veteran Laken Tomlinson is 33 years old and has been a starting guard in the NFL since his arrival in the league in 2015. He had stints with the Lions, 49ers, and Jets and played in 2024 with the Seahawks.

In his ten seasons in the NFL, Tomlinson has played 163 games (155 starts), and he hasn’t missed a start since 2017.

Unlike a potential Pro Bowler like Fries, Tomlinson is pretty much an average guard who can be a one or two years solution for a salary in the range of $2-3 million per year. He’s reliable and serviceable.

Moneyball: Will Hernandez

Will Hernandez was a popular draft candidate for the Vikings in 2018 when they ultimately selected Mike Hughes and Brian O’Neill. After spending his first four campaigns with the Giants, Hernandez played the last three campaigns for the Cardinals. He has appeared in 97 career games (91 starts).

Last year, Hernandez was limited to only five games due to a knee injury. Still, he has been one of the better guards in the NFL for years and would be cheaper than his play suggested because of the injury. That’s the kind of player Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has pursued in the last few years.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt