After years as Vikings' swingman, Blake Brandel settles in at center

There's a new quarterback in town, but there's also a new guy snapping him the ball. Blake Brandel has been a Viking for a while, but this offseason, he's making the switch to center.

"They asked me what I thought about it and I was all for it," said Brandel after the Vikings' second day of OTAs. "I just want to play. I love football and I love playing the game. Any opportunity I get to play the game."

Last year's center, Ryan Kelly, retired this offseason and the Vikings did not sign a replacement. They've publicly said it is Brandel's job. He was previously a guard and tackle, though he filled in at center a bit last season.

"I had a couple bad snaps last year, so grinding on that throughout the offseason was huge," said Brandel. "Just making sure... C-Q is huge, center-quarterback exchange. That was a big aspect. Everything is still relatively new. But I feel like I'm on the right track."

The rest of the offensive line will be the same as a season ago, so the man in the middle is now playing catch-up. When that's the case, you make the most of every summertime moment.

"I would actually snap to my wife," said Brandel. "My thought process was if she can catch it, then the quarterback can. And she'd let me know if it was a bad snap. Shoutout to her. Shoutout to Natalie. We got a lot of snaps in the backyard in Arizona."

The Vikings hope a lot of things translate from Arizona to Minnesota this season.