3 Commanders free agents who could follow Kevin O’Connell to Vikings

1. Brandon Scherff

As previously mentioned, the Vikings have all kinds of cap problems. However, so do the Packers and they’ve saved $14 million against the cap in a 48-hour span by restructuring the contracts of stars Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones.

In other words, there are plenty of loopholes for Minnesota to exploit. Cousins’ contract is obviously the elephant in the room, but assuming he doesn’t enter 2022 with a $45 million cap hit, they’ll have money to spend on upgrades.

Speaking of which, the Vikings have a glaring need at right guard. Their two tackle positions appear solidified with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, who combined to post a 72.8 player grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021.

There are still questions about Ezra Cleveland, but the 2018 second-round pick made noticeable strides at LG this season.

The right guard spot was supposed to be filled by Wyatt Davis, the team’s third-round draft choice in 2021, but he didn’t play a single snap as a rookie. The Vikings are keeping the faith in the Ohio State product, who claims to be on a stricter diet after being overweight, but he’s nothing more than a depth option at this point.

Scherff, on the other hand, would bring stability and veteran leadership to an offensive line whose current starters aren’t battle-tested. The five-time Pro Bowler worked under O’Connell for three seasons in Washington and would be a fantastic free agent pickup for the newly-minted head coach.