Andre Smith Deciding Between Vikings, Cardinals

6:53pm: Smith tells Tomasson (Twitter link) that his visit with the Vikings went well and that things are “even” between the Vikings and the Cardinals.

4:57pm: Tackle Andre Smith is still with the Vikings and they are still working on signing him, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter) reports. Minnesota hopes to get a deal done today with the veteran. Andre Smith

Smith spent 2009-15 with the Bengals after they selected him No. 6 overall and the tackle went on to make 73 regular season starts for them in 82 appearances. If Smith signs with the Vikings, he’d be the third starting-caliber O-lineman to do so this offseason, joining guards Alex Boone and Mike Harris.

The 38th-ranked player in PFR’s top 50 free agents list, Smith’s market has been somewhat slow to materialize. From the sound of it, however, his free agency could come to a halt rather soon.

The former first-rounder didn’t receive high marks based on the advanced metrics used by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Smith was ranked 56th out of 77 qualified tackles in 2015 with equally poor grades in pass blocking and run blocking. Smith saw 567 pass snaps and 414 run snaps last season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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