Minnesota Vikings right lineman Brian O’Neill departed the team’s Week 14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders with a left ankle sprain, which might sideline him for the rest of the season.
The offensive line is suffering from injuries, as guard Ed Ingram missed the first game of his career due to a hip ailment, while guard Dalton Risner departed the game for a few snaps. Minnesota almost ran out of offensive bodies in its 3-0 victory over the Raiders, prompting Bleacher Report to encourage the team to sign veteran La’el Collins with four games remaining in the season.
“It’d be a smart move to bring in a veteran offensive lineman who has experience playing guard and tackle just in case either of those two have to miss time,” Bleacher Report’s staff said on December 11.
Collins has seven years of starting experience and is an ideal, flexible player who could fill in for O’Neill, the team’s coveted right tackle who inked a five-year, $95 million contract extension in 2021, if he misses significant time.
According to the Star Tribune, O’Neill was observed departing Las Vegas in a walking boot.
La’el Collins is a surname. Among the Top NFL Free Agents
Collins, a projected top-10 pick in the 2015 draft, went undrafted owing to his involvement in a police investigation involving the murder of Brittany Mills, a 29-year-old pregnant woman.
Collins, who had a previous relationship with Mills and was requested to speak with Baton Rouge police after the draft, was not a suspect. Teams were hesitant to invest a first-round pick in Collins since police had not publicly exonerated him prior to the draft, a situation compounded by Collins’ agent, who threatened Collins would sit out the season if taken outside the third round.
Collins easily overcome a rough start to his career. He started at left guard as a rookie for the Dallas Cowboys before signing a two-year, $15.4 million agreement to become the franchise’s long-term right tackle in 2017.
Collins started all 16 games at right tackle in 2018, helping Dak Prescott pass for nearly 4,000 yards and Ezekiel Elliott capture the NFL rushing title with 1,434 yards.
Collins signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension before the 2019 season and was part of an offensive line that allowed a league-low 23 sacks. That season, he was Pro Football Focus’ seventh highest-rated tackle.
Collins missed the 2020 season due to a neck injury sustained in a car accident, which ended his stint in Dallas. He started 10 of 12 games in 2021 but was released when current starting right tackle Terence Steele emerged.
Collins joined the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2022 season and started 15 games before sustaining a ruptured ACL and MCL. During the preseason, he was placed on the team’s physically unable to perform list (PUP), but he was removed in September.
Recent Struggles of Vikings RT Brian O’Neill
O’Neill’s injury comes after a string of setbacks for the Pro Bowl right tackle. O’Neill had allowed two sacks and a season-high six pressures against the Chicago Bears in Week 12 before the Vikings’ bye week.
On December 10, he struggled to pass protect against Montez Sweat in Las Vegas. Maxx Crosby of the Raiders got two sacks in the first half, including a powerful rush against O’Neill that resulted in his injury after the Vikings tackle buckled after setting his anchor.
O’Neill’s two sacks against the Raiders tied a career high for him of six sacks in a single season. He is also one pressure shy of equal his career low of 31 allowed.
