Vikings UFA Profile: OL Chris Reed

Reed has been an afterthought on the offensive line over the last two seasons.

With the 2023 season in the books, Inside the Vikings will be taking a look at all 22 of Minnesota's pending unrestricted free agents over the next couple weeks. We'll examine their past and speculate about their future, particularly the likelihood that they could be re-signed by the Vikings this offseason. We'll start from the least important (Hakeem Adeniji) and work our way up to the big fish (Kirk Cousins).

Vikings UFA profile: Chris Reed

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

• Age: 31
• 2023 stats: N/A
• 2023 contract AAV: $1.265 million

Two years ago, the Vikings signed veteran offensive lineman Chris Reed to add some depth to their interior. He had started 20 games over the two previous seasons and 29 in his career, including a 2020 season where he started 14 games at left guard for the Panthers. But in the two seasons since then, the Minnesota State product has mostly been an afterthought on the offensive line.

With Garrett Bradbury and Austin Schlottmann both injured, Reed played 124 snaps at center during the two final two games of the '22 regular season. For a third-string option, he was fine. Bradbury was able to return and play against the Giants in the wild card round of the playoffs.

This season, Reed spent nearly three months on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. He was activated in November and played a grand total of two offensive snaps in the Vikings' season finale against the Lions. Now he's a free agent.

Reed's experience should land him another opportunity somewhere on a veteran's minimum deal, but he's on the downswing of his career and the Vikings may look to get younger with their backup linemen.

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