The Minnesota Vikings clearly didn’t feel great about their interior offensive line depth on their initial 53-man roster. That’s not much of a surprise, considering the fact that they only had eight active linemen after backup center Michael Jurgens was placed on short-term IR yesterday.
They claimed two former draft picks, including one former Super Bowl champion, from the Ravens and Eagles off of waivers this morning. Guard Trevor Keegan (who also brings versatility at center) was a fifth-round pick by the Eagles in 2024. He was cut ahead of the 2025 campaign and spent last season with the Cowboys.
They also added center Nick Samac, whom the Ravens initially drafted in the seventh round in 2024. He was later placed on their practice squad and subsequently claimed by the Panthers early in the 2025 season.
Both players will provide much-needed depth on the Vikings’ offensive line. One of them will be an injury away from playing a key role.
The Vikings Officially Found Their Contingency Plans At Center
The center position has been a massive question mark for Minnesota since training camp began. Blake Brendel is making the rare transition from offensive tackle to center. It hasn’t exactly been a seamless transition in the snapping department. Will Ragatz of Bring Me The Sports provided some insight into his troubles there earlier this month.
Blake Brandel, the Vikings’ starting center, has had some trouble with the accuracy of his snaps to Kyler Murray in shotgun and pistol formations throughout training camp, most recently in Monday’s practice,” Ragatz wrote on August 19. “Murray does present a slightly smaller target than most quarterbacks, but the number of snaps from Brandel that have been too high, too low, or off to one side is becoming a legitimate area of concern as the regular season approaches.
Keegan is the more interesting player of the two. NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported that the Cowboys were actually receiving trade calls on the 26-year-old before waiving him yesterday. That could indicate that Minnesota weren’t the only ones interested in the versatile lineman.
“The #Cowboys had some trade discussions with teams involving Trevor Keegan before waiving him yesterday. Usually an indication of who might get claimed. That’s the case here as Keegan heads to the #Vikings.” Garafolo wrote on X this afternoon.
Who Lost Their Roster Spot As A Result Of The Additions?
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. With the offensive line additions, the question now becomes who got axed (most likely to the practice squad) to make room for them.
Unless a JJ McCarthy trade is in the works, some believe it’s only a matter of time before Max Brosmer gets demoted to the practice squad. It’s anyone’s guess as to who else will go there with him, though.
Either Ben Yurosek or Gavin Bartholomew might be the most logical candidates, since they’re buried on a loaded depth chart. However, they both made a strong case for themselves throughout training camp. VikingsOnSI’s Adam Carlson believes the latter would be an extremely difficult cut.
“With his excellent training camp performance so far, Bartholomew doesn’t need to have an amazing preseason performance to impress the coaching staff. He is already showing that he is ready to contribute; the only question is where he will be used and how often.” Carlson wrote.
While it’s still unclear who got axed, it’s good to see the Vikings shoring up their most glaring remaining area of weakness. Now let’s see if they add a veteran pass-rusher in the coming days?