Aviante Collins has officially moved on from the Vikings. The Steelers announced that Collins has signed a Reserve/Future contract with Pittsburgh.
Aviante Collins, then an offensive lineman for the Vikings, was competing for an interior guard spot during last year’s training camp.
He ended up losing out to Dakota Dozier. He landed with the Vikings’ practice squad for 2020. After the season, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reported that Collins would be moving on from the team.
He seemed to be in a position to be earning at least some playing time for the Vikings in 2020, but that ended up not being the case. He played in two games and started one in 2019. In 2017, he played in three games for the Vikings.
Had Collins stayed with Minnesota, I’m not so sure he would have played. With how inconsistent Dozier was at left guard for the Vikings, I’d be surprised if the team didn’t bring in other options to replace him this offseason. Which means Collins would probably have had to deal with more competition than last year if he signed with Minnesota.
However, he does provide upside to a team in need of a platoon offensive lineman. In 2019, he had a PFF pass blocking grade of 67.3, albeit he played in just 49 offensive snaps, which makes for a small sample size. Seems like a good fit for both teams if he moves on.