Tag: Austin Schlottmann

Giants signing guards Austin Schlottmann, Aaron Stinnie

The New York Giants have agreed to terms with offensive linemen Austin Schlottmann and Aaron Stinnie.

The New York Giants lost offensive lineman Ben Bredeson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday but promptly rebounded by agreeing to terms with guards Aaron Stinnie and Auston Schlottmann.

Stinnie and Schlottmann were both signed as undrafted free agents in 2018.

Stinnie attended James Madison University and has played for the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including as a member of the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl Championship team. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just two sacks on 442 pass block snaps last season.

Schlottman attended Texas Christian University and has suited up for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. A versatile player who has lined up at right guard, center and left guard, Pro Football Focus indicates he has never allowed more than one sack in a season. His ability to line up in multiple spots will certainly come in handy in 2024.

Having some veterans along the offensive line will hopefully help stabilize and solidify the protective shield around Daniel Jones.

Stinnie and Schlottmann may have gone undrafted, but both are welcome additions to an offense that needs some serious help.

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Giants sign C Austin Schlottmann to two-year deal

Former Minnesota Vikings center Austin Schlottmann signs a two-year deal with the New York Giants.

The Minnesota Vikings lost another player to free agency, this time on the offensive side of the football.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the New York Giants have signed center Austin Schlottmann to a two-year contract. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed yet, but if the average annual is above $1.79 million, he will qualify for the compensatory formula, helping the Vikings get potentially two third-round compensatory selections.

With Garrett Bradbury injured, Schlottmann started in four games for the Vikings amassing an overall grade of 62.6 and an impressive pass blocking grade of 72.3.

Schlottmann is set to be the backup of John Michael Schmitz with a chance to potentially start if they kick Schmitz to guard.

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State of the interior offensive line: The Real Forno Show

The Minnesota Vikings have some continuity on the interior offensive line. We discuss what that looks like on The Real Forno Show.

As we continue to work through the Minnesota Vikings roster for the 2023 season, the interior offensive line offers a lot of intrigue.

Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram are back together for the second-consecutive season and that kind of continuity is extremely valuable on the offensive line.

Last season, Cleveland and Ingram started all 18 games with Bradbury missing five due to a back injury that was aggravated by a fender bender.

After the starters, the group of reserves has some intrigue. Austin Schlottmann is coming off of a broken ankle and Chris Reed struggled with the transition to center. Josh Sokol is entering his second season and UDFA Alan Ali offers a versatile interior player with really good size.

What should we expect from the interior offensive line group? Can they improve from last season? How will Ingram grow from his oftentimes brutal 2022?

All of that and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

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Vikings state of the roster: Interior offensive line

Can the Minnesota Vikings see improvement from Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram in 2023?

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle.

We are currently writing player profiles on each Minnesota Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.

Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the interior offensive line.

65 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 65

From Austin Schlottmann to Jerry Huth and everyone in between, we take a look at everyone who has worn No. 65 for the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 65 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.

From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.

Offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann is currently wearing the number for the Vikings. Before him, Pat Elflein and John Sullivan wore the number for an extended period.

With 65 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 65 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

1 veteran player on roster bubble at each position group for the Vikings

We’re looking at one veteran player on the roster bubble for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of training camp

The Minnesota Vikings are set to kick off training camp with the rookies set to report on Sunday, July 23rd and veterans on Tuesday, July 25th. With training camp brings a lot of positional battles.

Throughout training camp, there will be dozens of players fighting to take a roster spot from a veteran and some of them will succeed.

We took a look at each position and highlighted one veteran that is on the roster bubble.

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Vikings 90-man roster player profile: C Austin Schlottmann

After breaking his ankle in week 17 last season, can Austin Schlottmann keep the backup center spot?

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.

Grading the Vikings free agency moves after the first week

The Minnesota Vikings have made multiple signings since the beginning of free agency. @TheRealForno graded each signing the Vikings made.

We are eight days into the free agency period and the Minnesota Vikings have been plenty busy in both acquiring and retaining talent.

Despite entering the offseason nearly $24 million over the salary cap, the Vikings made multiple moves by releasing stalwart players like Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks. The corresponding moves that they made will help determine where the Vikings go moving forward.

After the first eight days, the Vikings have made multiple moves. Here is how I have graded each of those moves.

Report: Vikings have re-signed C Austin Schlottmann

After breaking his ankle in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, center Austin Schlottmann is re-signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings are continuing to add to the depth of their roster. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Vikings have re-signed backup center Austin Schlottmann. Details of the contract were not disclosed, but it’s likely a one-year deal at the league minimum or close to it, just like last year.

Schlottmann ended up starting in four games after center Garrett Bradbury ended up going down with a back injury. He played admirably, but didn’t show anything more than a backup center.

His PFF grades reflected that. Schlottmann had an overall grade of 48.7 with blocking grades of 46.1 (pass) and 55.3 (run). In his fourth start, Schlottmann broke his ankle in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers and was placed on injured reserve.

With the Vikings guaranteeing money with Chris Reed earlier this week, don’t be surprised if this deal doesn’t have any full guarantees and Schlottmann will have to fight for a roster spot.

Zulgad: Brian O’Neill’s absence could sink Vikings’ hope of making a playoff run

From @jzulgad: With the loss of Brian O’Neill, the Vikings could see flashbacks of 2017 when they lost Nick Easton

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell is likely regretting his first-quarter decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 on Sunday at Lambeau Field — or at least his play call.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins dropped back with the ball on the Green Bay 37 and rifled it toward tight end T.J. Hockenson. The pass was tipped by cornerback Rasul Douglas and picked off by safety Darnell Savage. Savage raced 75 yards for a touchdown to give the Packers a 14-3 lead and a preview of what was to come in a 24-point loss.

Amazingly, it wasn’t the worst result of the play. Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill suffered what coach Kevin O’Connell called a “significant” injury to his calf as he pursued Savage. On Tuesday, O’Neill was placed on injured reserve. His season is likely finished and his absence could play a large role in ending the Vikings’ season early in the playoffs.

Minnesota is 12-4 entering its regular-season finale Sunday in Chicago and already has the NFC North clinched. An embarrassing 41-17 loss to the Packers on Sunday means the Vikings are likely to have the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoff field and face the New York Giants on wild card weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium.

What the Vikings won’t have for that game is one of the NFL’s best right tackles. O’Neill was elected to the Pro Bowl in 2021 after signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract just before the regular season. His contract makes him the second-highest paid right tackle in the league to New Orleans’ Ryan Ramczyk. Ramczyk averages $19.2 million per season; O’Neill is at $18.5 million.

O’Connell plans to replace O’Neill with backup tackle Oli Udoh, who struggled playing out of position at right guard last season. A second-round pick in 2018 by the Vikings, O’Neill is a team captain and has become the leader of an offensive line that finally had some stability this season. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the NFL’s fourth-best right tackle.

But wait, it gets worse.

The Vikings also have potential issues at center after placing Austin Schlottmann on injured reserve Tuesday. He suffered a left fibula fracture in the first quarter shortly before O’Neill was lost. Schlottmann was playing because Garrett Bradbury has missed the past four games due to a lower back injury. O’Connell would only say that “the hope is that we’ll have him back,” but he declined to put a timetable on Bradbury’s return.

This could put veteran guard Chris Reed, who had never played a regular-season game at center until Sunday, in a starting role, but the Vikings also have signed eight-year veteran Greg Mancz to the active roster. Mancz has played in 64 games during his career, including one with Buffalo this season.

The Vikings potential starting offensive line in the playoffs could be Reed or Mancz at center, often-struggling rookie Ed Ingram at right guard and Udoh at right tackle. If that’s the case, good luck to Cousins, who likely will be facing the New York Giants and blitz-happy defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale in the first round.

If this sounds familiar it should. It was in the penultimate regular-season game of the 2017 season in Green Bay, when the Vikings lost left guard Nick Easton because of a fractured right ankle. The offensive line was shuffled with Mike Remmers moving from right tackle to left guard and backup Rashod Hill taking over at right tackle. Remmers, like Reed in this situation, was playing out of position and it showed.

That Vikings team, the last to win the NFC North before this one, finished 13-3 and beat the Saints on the Minneapolis Miracle play before getting destroyed 38-7 in the NFC title game in Philadelphia.

Easton’s loss was a blow, but he wasn’t nearly as important as O’Neill is to this unit. This has been mostly a magical season for the Vikings and their first-year coach, but you have to wonder how long it will continue with O’Neill watching from the sideline.