The Vikings went into 2025 free agency trying to fix the trenches, but Will Fries has become the clearest example of how that plan is aging badly.
Minnesota handed Fries a five-year, $87.2 million deal, paying him like one of the league’s top guards. He’s also been the only projected starting offensive lineman on the roster to start every game last season, which counts for something. But availability hasn’t matched impact, and the production has landed squarely in the mediocre range.
That was true last year, and it’s still true now. Among 81 qualifying guards, Fries ranked 42nd in overall Pro Football grade at 61.7.
His run-blocking grade checked in at 47th at 60.1, and his pass-blocking grade landed 36th at 62.9. The film matched the numbers: he simply didn’t pop for the right reasons.
Through Week 8, with one game left in the week at the time of this writing, the picture hasn’t improved much. Fries owns the 55th-best PFF pass-blocking grade among qualifying guards at 52.3. He has allowed three sacks, tied for third-most among guards, and his work in pass protection has been uneven enough to stand out in the wrong way.
The run game hasn’t offered much of a rescue, either. A change in Minnesota’s run scheme this season seemed like it might help him, but Fries has not turned into a difference-maker there. His 61.3 PFF run-blocking grade is barely inside the top 50, and the eye test has backed that up.
That matters even more now because the Vikings are about to see better defensive fronts. Two other NFC contenders, the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, made notable additions at defensive tackle last week, and Minnesota will face both teams. Fries is going to be tested in games that carry real weight, and there’s no reason to assume he’ll rise to the moment based on what he’s shown so far.
The strange part is that one season ago, there was enough to sell the Vikings on the investment. Fries’ injury-shortened 2024 run with the Indianapolis Colts would have produced the third-best overall PFF grade among guards if he had qualified on snaps.
That season looks like the outlier now, but it was still enough to land him a massive contract in Minnesota. If the Vikings hadn’t paid him, another team probably would have.
The long-term escape hatch is already visible. Fries carries matching cap hits of $21.5 million over the next three years, and $10 million of his $16.89 million 2027 base salary becomes guaranteed on the third day of the league year. If his play stays at this level, Minnesota will have every reason to avoid that commitment.
A restructuring could be an option, but a clean exit looks more realistic. Per Over The Cap, a pre-June 1 cut before 2027 would leave the Vikings with $12 million in dead money and $9.5 million in cap savings. A post-June 1 release would spread that dead money over 2027, 2028 and 2029 while opening up $17.5 million in 2027 cap space.
Unless Fries finds another gear over the rest of the season, the Vikings will be staring at an easy offseason call. Right now, he’s giving them average-to-below-average play at premium money, and that’s the kind of cap mistake teams usually try to correct as soon as they can.
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