Vikings Place Brian O'Neill, Austin Schlottmann on IR; Sign C Greg Mancz, OT Bobby Evans
The Vikings have made a series of roster moves in response to C Austin Schlottmann and RT Brian O'Neill suffering significant leg injuries against the Packers.
Schlottmann (left fibula fracture) and O'Neill (calf injury) were placed on injured reserve, effectively ending their seasons. The only way either could play again this season would be in the event the Vikings reach the Super Bowl.
To replace Schlottmann, veteran center Greg Mancz was signed to the active roster. And to add depth at tackle, former Rams third-round pick Bobby Evans was signed to Minnesota's practice squad.
Mancz figures to have an immediate chance to compete for the Vikings' starting job at center. Garrett Bradbury is still out with a back injury and there's no timetable yet for his return. The Vikings are hoping to get Bradbury back at some point, but his status for the first round of the playoffs is very much unknown.
"My hope is at some point, we can get him some real practice reps and really see how that thing responds," O'Connell said on Monday. "There’s only so much from a rehab standpoint they can do before we have to actually test what it feels like for him to play football. The hope is we’ll have him back — can’t really put a timetable on that as far as this week or next, but there is hope there."
When Schlottmann went down early in Sunday's loss to the Packers, Chris Reed was thrust into action as the third-string center. The veteran guard had never played the position in an NFL regular season game prior to that point, and it showed — Reed's struggles with snap cadence and timing led to several procedural penalties (false starts and delay of games).
Mancz, 30, is an eighth-year player with 32 career starts (22 at center and ten at guard). Signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo in 2015, he spent his first six years in Houston, starting 28 games — including all 16 at center in 2016. Over the past two seasons, Mancz has bounced around the league with stints in Baltimore, Miami, Buffalo, and most recently, Cleveland. He started four games with the Dolphins in 2021. Mancz was released by the Browns less than two weeks ago, on December 23rd.
Mancz joins Reed and practice squad players Kyle Hinton and Josh Sokol as potential centers on the Vikings' roster. If he can get up to speed quickly and Bradbury's absence lingers, it's possible Mancz could be the Vikings' starting center in the first round of the postseason.
Evans, 25, was a third-round pick of the Rams in 2019 after a standout career at Oklahoma. He started seven games at right tackle as a rookie, then spent the last two seasons as a backup offensive lineman for LA, starting one game at RT on the Rams' 2021 team that went on to win the Super Bowl. This season, Evans primarily played left guard, starting four games there, and struggled mightily. He was released on December 31st.
Adding Evans gives the Vikings some much-needed depth at tackle with O'Neill out and Blake Brandel still on IR. Third-stringer Oli Udoh is the current starter at RT, with rookie Vederian Lowe next in line. Evans could compete with Lowe to be the next man up after Udoh.
The Vikings released outside linebacker Chris Garrett, also a former Ram, from their practice squad to make room for Evans.
There is currently one open spot on the Vikings' 53-man roster. That could be taken by tight end Irv Smith Jr. this week, as he has returned to practice and could be activated soon.
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