Brian O’Neill, Minnesota Vikings. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings just made right tackle Brian O’Neill a very wealthy man.
By extending right tackle Brian O’Neill, the Minnesota Vikings can rest easy knowing they have one-fifth of their offensive line solved for the foreseeable future.
Minnesota is giving the former second-round pick out of Pittsburgh a five-year extension worth $92.5 million. O’Neill has played in 46 of a possible 48 regular-season games during his time with the Vikings, making 42 starts for them as well. While the Vikings have had issues with their offensive line throughout much of the Mike Zimmer era in Minneapolis, O’Neill has been terrific.
O’Neill will only be entering his age-26 season out of Pittsburgh for the Vikings this year.
Brian O’Neill contract extension details: How much are the Vikings paying him?
In years past, it would have been bonkers to pay a right tackle this much money, even if he was only entering his prime as a professional. However, the gap between left tackles and right tackles is smaller than ever before in the NFL, not to mention that offensive line play has been largely atrocious for the better part of a decade. For now, the Vikings have right tackle completely solved.
The next time the Vikings offensive line goes out for dinner, guess who will be fronting the bill?