After all the speculation and training camp battles, we have a roster. But it comes with a “subject to change” warning sticker. The Vikings’ initial 53 could look quite different in the coming days. Let’s take a look at where the surprises were and what parts of the squad could land under the Not For Long category…
Note: Changes have already been made with the reported signing of Myles Gasking and release of Jalen Reagor.
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall
Since 2016, the Vikings have only kept three quarterbacks one time (in 2018, thanks to research from Vikings.com) but they invested a fifth-round draft pick in Jaren Hall and the ex-BYU quarterback showed progress during the preseason, improving with each game. In the first half against Arizona he drove the offense effectively and made several impressive on-time throws, giving an indication that he could develop over the next year into a future backup. If he was cut and picked up on waivers by another team it would have been deflating after his highest moment and taken away a chance for Kevin O’Connell to further develop the young QB.
Per Pro Football Talk, the new emergency QB rule did not have a profound effect on decision making around the NFL with only 13 teams keeping three QBs vs. 12 last year. From O’Connell’s comments supporting the rule, it may have influenced their decision in some way.
Running back
Alexander Mattison, Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler, CJ Ham
We don’t know Kene Nwangwu’s status for the beginning of the season yet but he hasn’t practiced since the early portion of training camp, making him a potential candidate to be placed on IR. Th Vikings signed Myles Gaskin Wednesday morning to seemingly slot in as RB2 this season.
DeWayne McBride was the only 2023 draft pick to be released. He came in with relatively high expectations for a seventh-round pick but never really clicked. In preseason the former UAB star ran 20 times for just 70 yards with zero carries going for more than 10 yards. When the practice squad is announced we will know whether they view him as a project to develop or simply a late-round miss.
Wide receiver
Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell
Throughout camp there was a daily debate over whether the Vikings would choose Powell or Reagor. At least on cutdown day, they chose both. However, early Wednesday morning Reagor was waived in order to make room for Gaskin signing. Reagor had an overall strong camp, playing well in preseason and filling in first-team reps at times when Jordan Addison missed time. If Jalen Nailor isn’t ready to play Week 1 after missing the entire training camp, Powell can act as serviceable depth player.
Initially keeping Reagor forced the Vikings to cut Trishton Jackson, who had a very strong training camp. New practice squad rules that opened up more spots and room for experienced players allow for a player like Jackson to potentially be retained on the PS.
Tight end
T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse
Four tight ends, in this economy?
Whether it stays that way is unclear because the Vikings will need to either put players on IR or chop from somewhere in order to add players from waivers or trades in the coming days but at least by the end of Tuesday it appears that Muse forced their hand with his play. He had a terrific preseason with seven catches for 72 yards, including a highlight-reel catch in the preseason opener. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 draft as a development project and took the ideal leap forward during this training camp.
There may be some suspicion over whether Muse was retained because of Hockenson’s contract situation and issues that have kept him from fully participating in practice over the past few weeks but it seems more likely that he earned the spot and the team was concerned that another TE-needy club would pick him up. After spending two years developing him, they wouldn’t want to see him scooped up by a competitor. As for Hockenson, he vowed to be ready to go Week 1, so we will assume that’s still the case.
Offensive Line
LT Christian Darrisaw, LG Ezra Cleveland, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Ed Ingram, RT Brian O’Neill, C Austin Schlottmann, G Blake Brandel, T Oli Udoh
Only eight offensive linemen? This is the lowest number the Vikings have kept since 2016. Last year they brought 10 O-linemen out of training camp. With Vederian Lowe traded to the Patriots and Chris Reed on the non-football injury list there weren’t many other candidates that could have made a case for spots on the 53.
If the Vikings want to roll into the season with only eight and practice squad-ers, they can do so because of the versatility of all of their backups. Schlottmann can play center and guard, Brandel was a tackle and worked during camp at guard and Udoh has game experience at both spots. It’s possible they roll with those three until Reed is ready to return, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see one more name added to the mix. Would they make an effort to find an experienced guard as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency? Whether they find a veteran or not could tell us how confident they are in the progress of the interior O-line.
Defensive line
Dean Lowry, Harrison Phillips and Khyiris Tonga, Jonathan Bullard, Jaquelin Roy
The quietest winner of training camp was Khyiris Tonga, who was picked up prior to last season and thrived when he got an opportunity to play. (Read his story here). He held down the first-team role at nose tackle from wire to wire and appears capable of filling the Dalvin Tomlinson shoes of stuffing the middle. Rookie fifth-rounder Jaquelin Roy flashed his power during camp and his one preseason game. He should be expected to act as depth/development throughout this year.
The toughest call here may have been former Gopher Esezi Otomewo. He was picked in the 2022 fifth round as a raw, high upside player and last year in only a handful of snaps he flashed at times. But that progress did not appear to carry over the way they would have hoped and he could be destined for the practice squad.
Poor Sheldon Day. He couldn’t have done much more in the preseason to make an argument for a spot on the 53 than he did. Day was the highest PFF graded defender by far in the three preseason games, racking up six pressures on 48 pass rush snaps. For the second straight year an interior rusher (TY McGill) has crushed the preseason and not made the club.
Outside linebackers
Marcus Davenport and Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Pat Jones II, Andre Carter II
Andre Carter II vs. Luiji Vilain is more complicated than which player is better at football right now. That answer is clearly Vilain. But the Vikings paid a hefty price for Carter II to sign as an undrafted free agent, which means that there was plenty of interest around the league in bringing in the former Army pass rusher. If they let Carter II hit waivers, there was a decent chance he’d get claimed. While he didn’t flash much in camp or preseason (in part possibly because he was delayed from the start by injury), Carter II’s spot on the roster was never about his 2023 camp/preseason showing. He’s a major project. They are rolling the dice that several years down the road he could be a significant player.
As for Vilain, he was second on the team in preseason pressures to Benton Whitley, who also got cut. The team has a better chance at moving Vilain to the practice squad if they want to keep him and they can be confident about his upside and fit after seeing him for two training camps and a full season on the roster last year. If the decision was only made by which player could contribute more right now, he would have been the choice but with four OLBs clearly ahead of him chances aren’t high that he would have been called upon. He only appeared in two games on defense last year.
Inside linebacker
Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah II, Troy Dye, Ivan Pace, Jr.
No surprises at linebacker. They must feel confident that the special teams units are going to be in good shape without another linebacker considering the Vikings have kept as many as seven in the past.
The reason it’s not a surprise that an undrafted free agent made the roster is because Ivan Pace Jr. made it clear so early on that he was going to be a factor that there wasn’t any question he was going to be on the 53. He’s the easy Mr. Mankato winner.
Cornerbacks
Byron Murphy, Jr., Akayleb Evans; Andrew Booth, Jr., Mekhi Blackmon, NaJee Thompson
If there was a runner-up for Mr. Mankato, it would be NaJee Thompson, who put himself on the map with several impact special teams plays during the preseason. But that is likely to be the extent of his role, meaning the Vikings have only four cornerbacks to handle three starting jobs after cutting Joejuan Williams. That would seem to mean that help is on the way. There were numerous cornerbacks who hit the wire on cutdown day who could potentially join the Vikings’ DB room, including veteran Bradley Roby.
Williams suffered quite the fall during camp. He started out as the starting outside corner but rookie Mekhi Blackmon passed him a few days into padded practices and never looked back. Interestingly, when Blackmon missed a couple practices, Williams took his spot with the first group rather than Andrew Booth Jr. The second-year corner out of Clemson was never in the fight for the starting job but has enough potential upside to give it time rather than taking the dead cap hit to cut him in Year 2.
Safeties
Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Lewis Cine, Jay Ward, Theo Jackson
Normally the Vikings keep four safeties but with the addition of Jay Ward in the fourth round of the draft, they were bound to retain at least one more than usual. Theo Jackson was the player that appeared to be odd-man out despite his strong play in training camp. Jackson is a former sixth-round pick of the Titans who the Vikings signed last year after Lewis Cine suffered a season-ending injury. The question is whether they will retain him beyond the initial 53. Flores has made it clear that he likes having extra safeties to use in lots of different roles and Jackson played a vital role on special teams after joining the Vikings last year but if they have to find a roster spot somewhere to fit another cornerback or lineman, his good story could be short lived.
Specialists
Long Snapper Andrew DePaola, Kicker Greg Joseph, Punter Ryan Wright
The drama was taken out of any specialist decisions when the Vikings cut kicker Jack Podlesny. There is no reason to think they will make any moves here.
Final thoughts
The right word for the Vikings’ roster is probably “fluid.” Pickups and trades feel inevitable for this group. Who goes on IR? How many spots will they need to make? Which positions will they fill? Will there be any last-minute trades? These questions will be answered pretty quickly. Last year they picked up Duke Shelley and Khyiris Tonga at the last minute, so we can’t dismiss finding under-the-radar players who could end up being called into duty.
The other noticeable part of the roster was that decisions were hard because camp was competitive in a lot of areas. Because of the number of players who were let go this offseason, the door opened for more battles and intrigue than before.
In some spots, though, the lack of experience stands out when we look at the 53 on paper. Behind Byron Murphy, aside from a handful of Akayleb Evans snaps last year, nobody has played NFL football in the cornerback room. The linebackers beyond Jordan Hicks or the running backs other than Alexander Mattison are similar. Will they look to improve the experience or let it ride and see where the road takes them? That will be an interesting choice in the coming days.
