Tag: Blake Brandel

David Quessenbery contract terms revealed

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reveals the terms of David Quessenbery’s contract as he re-signs with the Minnesota Vikings

One of the more fun exercises in free agency is figuring out how these free agency contracts are structured and how the money is allocated to the player.

The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling gives an in-depth look at the one-year contract given to David Quessenberry to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings. According to Goessling, Quessenberry’s deal is a one-year, $1.885 million deal, with $1.375 million guaranteed.

The contract also comes with a $625,000 signing bonus, a $1.210 million base salary ($750,000 guaranteed) and a $50,000 workout bonus with up to $200,000 in incentives.

Minnesota’s offensive line was one of the more stout in the NFL last season, ranking as the tenth-best offensive line at the end of the season, according to Pro Football Network. One of the concerns for the unit heading into this season was the depth behind the starting five. Re-signing both Quessenberry and Blake Brandel was a major step in fortifying the interior and keeping continuity along the line.

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Report: Blake Brandel gets 3 year, $9.5 million contract

The Minnesota Vikings signed Blake Brandel to a 3 year, $9.5 million contract on Monday to solidify their offensive line.

The Minnesota Vikings found a way to not just bring in three outside talents in free agency but also sign two of their own.

One of those players was offensive lineman Blake Brandel. He didn’t just sign the restricted free agent tender, he signed a three-year contract worth $9.5 million with $4.75 million guaranteed. The numbers were initially reported by The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.

The structure of the contract is as follows:

  • $2 million signing bonus
  • 2024 base salary: $1.1 million fully guaranteed
  • 2025 base salary: $2.6 million, $1.65 million fully guaranteed
  • 2026 base salary: $3.35 million
  • Per game roster bonuses of $100k each year
  • $500k playing time incentive in 2024 and 2025
  • $750k playing time incentive in 2026

 

This is a really good signing for the Vikings who needed to build up the depth on the offensive line and keep a homegrown player at a very inexpensive cost.

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Vikings re-signed OL Blake Brandel and David Quessenberry

The Minnesota Vikings have re-signed backup offensive linemen Blake Brandel and David Quessenberry.

The Minnesota Vikings have been very active so far during free agency. After the announcement that they are expected to sign Houston Texans edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that they have re-signed OL Blake Brandel and David Quessenberry.

The Vikings needed to add depth on the offensive line and bringing back players who have been in the system and played well is a smart move.

The Vikings drafted Brandel in the sixth round out of Oregon State as a tackle and moved inside this past season and played well.

Quessenberry is a seasoned veteran who was a good backup for the team and played well in his backup role and his time starting with the team.

The Vikings will still need to add multiple pieces to the offensive line but with only one starting spot open, it’s in a good spot.

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LOOK: Every player drafted in the NFL during Jonathan Smith’s era at Oregon State

Check out every player that was drafted into the NFL during new MSU HC Jonathan Smith’s tenure at Oregon State:

New Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith is known as a program builder and someone who can develop players at a high level. He has shown the ability to elevate the talent that he recruits, a quality Spartan fans are very excitedly looking forward to.

At Oregon State, Smith was able to really turn the development up on a plethora of offensive talent at Oregon State leading to a handful of draft picks in his six year tenure in Corvallis. Of his eight draft picks, seven have seen significant snaps and game action in the NFL, which is impressive to his development acumen.

Check out who got drafted into the NFL during Smith’s tenure at Oregon State:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

State of the offensive tackle room: The Real Forno Show

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best offensive tackle rooms in the National Football League and we discuss on The Real Forno Show.

The Minnesota Vikings have struggled on the offensive line for the last decade. Going into the 2023 season, the offensive tackle group is one of the best in the National Football League.

Even with the top end talent, there are still some question marks with this group.

  • Can Christian Darrisaw improve on his excellent 2022 season?
  • How will Brian O’Neill rebound from his partially torn Achilles tendon suffered in week 17?
  • Will Blake Brandel and Oli Udoh improve on their 2022 performance?
  • Can Vederian Lowe show enough improvement to make the roster?
  • Jacky Chen and Sam Schlueter are trying to make the roster. Can they make the roster?

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: Offensive tackle

Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill have elevated the Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle group to one of the best in the NFL.

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 offensive tackle position.

64 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 64

We take a look at every player to wear No. 64 with the Minnesota Vikings as we near the start of the 2023 season.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 64 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.

Rotational offensive tackle Blake Brandel currently wears the number, but Randall McDaniel headlines the number for the Vikings.

With 64 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 64 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: OT Blake Brandel

After starting three games at the end of last season, can Blake Brandel earn an expanded role with the Minnesota Vikings?

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.

Vikings sign exclusive rights free agents Blake Brandel and Khyiris Tonga

The Vikings fortified their depth with the signings of Brandel and Tonga

The Minnesota Vikings had nearly 25 free agents heading into the 2023 offseason and the Vikings have been doing work on bringing some of them back.

On Friday, the Vikings re-signed their two exclusive rights free agents in OT Blake Brandel and NT Khyiris Tonga.

One of the easiest ways that you can build a championship contender is by hitting on both late draft picks and both UDFA’s and the waiver wire. That is how they got both Brandel and Tonga.

Brandel was a sixth-round pick in 2020 out of Oregon State and was a guy that you can hope to develop into a swing tackle. It took three years, but he has done just that. In place of Christian Darrisaw when he was out with his two concussions, Brandel was a stalwart player and did a really solid job at left tackle.

On the defensive line, Tonga was better. He was a top-15 pass rusher per Pro Football Focus grade and had 14 pressures from the interior. He looked more explosive than the average nose tackle and became an important role player.

The important thing for the Vikings is they got both of these players for well below market value due to the exclusive right free agent tag.

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Oli Udoh has played well at right tackle

In limited reps, Udoh has performed well at right tackle

Going into the Wild Card matchup against the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings will have to start a backup at right tackle for Brian O’Neill.

Leading into Sunday, Oli Udoh was expected to be that guy. It will likely be Blake Brandel, who the Vikings activated from injured reserve on Saturday afternoon. Even so, don’t be surprised if head coach Kevin O’Connell decides to rotates them out.

If Udoh does get extensive play, there is reason to believe he can play well on the outside.

In limited reps, Udoh has only allowed four total pressures on 154 pass-blocking snaps. That is an efficiency rate of 97.4%

It’s never an ideal scenario to have your backup tackle start a playoff game, but the Vikings will be in good hands with Udoh.