![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2235448752.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Vikings Territory’s Adam New included offensive tackle Brian O’Neill on a list of players who could be playing their final year with the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n
Offensive tackle Brian O\u2019Neill<\/a> has been a mainstay for the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> lineup practically since he arrived in 2018. But that could be ending relatively soon.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Vikings Territory\u2019s Adam New suggested<\/a> Friday when he included O\u2019Neill on a list of six Vikings \u201cwho may be playing their final\u201d season in Minnesota.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill was No. 1 on the list.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t expect O\u2019Neill\u2019s play to drop off a cliff suddenly, but he will be 32 next September, and recent activity shows the Vikings have been parting ways with expensive veterans and getting younger on the roster,\u201d wrote New<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that in mind, do the Vikings offer O\u2019Neill another big, multi-year contract? An extension to help solve the team\u2019s salary cap problems was an option early in the offseason, but that wasn\u2019t taken.<\/p>\n \u201cO\u2019Neill could still get one before this season starts, or they could wait and see how his ninth season with the team pans out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Vikings waiting on an O\u2019Neill extension is likely the smartest move. What that would mean, though, is the offensive tackle potentially being out in Minnesota before 2027.<\/p>\n This fall, O\u2019Neill is entering the final year of his 5-year, $92.5 million contract<\/a>. He will be a free agent next March.<\/p>\n Right Tackle Brian O\u2019Neill Facing Crucial Year with Vikings?<\/p>\n The Vikings not extending O\u2019Neill a new contract is the biggest evidence that 2026 could be the right tackle\u2019s final season in Minnesota.<\/p>\n As New explained, the right tackle might still get an extension this summer. But until that happens, his future in Minnesota will remain murky.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill will have about a $23.12 million cap hit<\/a> for the 2026 season. The Vikings might not want to agree to a deal that gives the team that kind of cap charge for a 30-plus-year-old right tackle.<\/p>\n If O\u2019Neill doesn\u2019t prove to be as good as ever in 2026, the Vikings could allow the veteran to test free agency.<\/p>\n Why the Vikings Should Want O\u2019Neill Back Beyond 2026<\/p>\n New\u2019s argument makes sense on paper. O\u2019Neill, though, continues to be a great player, which should motivate the Vikings to keep him.<\/p>\n Last season, O\u2019Neill earned<\/a> an 81.6 overall grade at Pro Football Focus. He excelled at both run and pass blocking for the fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill has posted good to great grades overall (along in both run and pass blocking) every season since 2019.<\/p>\n So unless O\u2019Neill has a sudden downturn in 2026, the right tackle has earned another extension with the Vikings.<\/p>\n An injury might be the biggest concern for O\u2019Neill actually getting the extension. Last season, the right tackle did miss three games because of an MCL sprain<\/a>. O\u2019Neill also dealt<\/a> with an Achilles issue at the end of the 2023 season.<\/p>\n Other than that, though, O\u2019Neill has been quite durable. He has only missed seven contests dating back to the start of 2020.<\/p>\n The Vikings drafted O\u2019Neill at No. 62 overall in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft<\/a>. A Wilmington, Delaware native, O\u2019Neill played college football at Pitt.<\/p>\n He started<\/a> his first NFL<\/a> game during Week 6 of his rookie season. In 2021 and 2024, O\u2019Neill earned Pro Bowl bids.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDave Holcomb<\/a> is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Vikings Territory’s Adam New included offensive tackle Brian O’Neill on a list of players who could be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-648859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}