Report: Vikings sign Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly to two-year deal

Kelly is a four-time Pro Bowl center who missed seven games in 2024 due to injury

Jan 5, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78) leaves the field after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23 in overtime at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christine Tannous/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Christine Tannous/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Vikings have made their first move to improve the interior of their offensive line by signing former Colts center Ryan Kelly, according to reports. Kelly is signing a two-year, $18million deal with Minnesota.

Kelly, 31, has spent the past nine seasons with the Colts, who drafted him with the No. 18 pick in the 2016 draft out of Alabama. He is a four-time Pro Bowler but is coming off a 2024 season in which he missed seven games due to injury. It was the third time in the past four seasons that Kelly missed time through injury.

Despite the injury concerns, Kelly has proven to be one of the better centers in the league, allowing just one sack in 601 offensive snaps in 2024. In his last full season of play, 2022, Kelly allowed five sacks and 25 pressures while earning a 64.8 PFF pass block grade.

With Kelly signed, the attention will now turn to what the Vikings do with Garrett Bradbury, who played every snap for the Vikings at center this season. Bradbury is entering the final year of a three-year, $15.75 million deal. According to Over The Cap, if the Vikings cut Bradbury prior to June 1, they would incur a $2.4 million dead cap hit but save $3.6 million on the cap.