DT at $6 million Pitched as Dean Lowry of the Vikings’ replacement
The Minnesota Vikings lost defensive lineman Dean Lowry for the season a week ago, but a quality replacement is available through free agency.
Lowry was placed on injured reserve (IR) on Nov. 20 with a broken pectoral. Bleacher Report’s NFL staff revealed former Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis as Lowry’s D-line replacement for Minnesota’s long drive on Monday, November 27.
“The Vikings placed Dean Lowry on injured reserve last week, thinning their interior defensive line,” wrote BR. “Ioannidis is probably the best choice to replace Lowry because he is a great defender and could also help improve his interior pass rush with 25.5 career sacks.
Matt Ioannidis had a quality campaign for the Panthers in 2022.
Ioannidis has played seven years in the NFL but has yet to find success in 2023. He played with the Carolina Panthers last season on a one-year contract worth $6 million. According to advanced stats calculated by Pro Football Focus (PFF), Ioannidis started all 13 games in which he appeared and was especially strong as a pass rusher. He finished the year with 37 tackles, including five for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, according to Pro Football Reference.
Ioannidis played the first six games of the NFL season as a member of the Washington Commanders before being selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He recorded a career-high 8.5 sacks after the Chiefs signed him to a three-year, $22 million contract in April 2019.
Injuries have severely affected the depth of the Vikings’ defensive line this season.
The Vikings don’t necessarily need a starting lineman to replace Lowry, but Ioannidis has appeared in 53 of the 86 games he’s played since joining the NFL.
Minnesota signed Lowry last offseason from the Green Bay Packers, where he spent the first seven years of his career. He appeared in nine games and made four starts for the Vikings before suffering a season-ending injury.
Lowry played 237 defensive snaps (40% of available snaps) and 39 points on special teams. He was below average in both running and passing before the injury, according to PFF’s advanced analysis.
With James Lynch on IR this year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Minnesota needs to add depth at the position to complement Jonathan Bullard and Jacqueline Roy. The Vikings have more than $7.1 million in salary cap space to add to their roster as of Wednesday, according to Over The Cap.
The Vikings (6-6) enter a bye week and won’t play again until Dec. 10 when they face the Las Vegas Raiders. Minnesota has a 58.5 percent chance to make the playoffs after losing to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, according to the ESPN Football Power Index.
