Roster cutdown day is less than a week away, and the Minnesota Vikings are like most teams in that they face a crunch.
Some position groups are tougher to call than others, like the offensive line, defensive line and secondary.
Who will the Vikings keep, and what will their decisions hinge on? Here’s a position-by-position analysis.
Quarterback
The Vikings carried three quarterbacks last year. In 2022, they kept only two. Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens are locks, so this comes down to how Minnesota wants to proceed with Jaren Hall.
Hall is 26 and entering his second season. Last weekend in Cleveland, he produced his best NFL performance. The Vikings staff values his maturity and drive. For more than a year now, he typically has been the last player out on the field after practice working with assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski.
The decision comes down to this: Do the Vikings value a third-string QB option steeped in the system more than they value a back-end roster option with upside at another premium position? The answer might be no, especially with the emphasis coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have placed on roster depth.
Over the past three years, only three quarterbacks around the NFL have been claimed off waivers on cutdown day. But could another team pounce on Hall? It’s possible. He is mobile, generally accurate and studied in an advanced system that is respected throughout the league. There is risk to cutting him, but the Vikings might be willing to absorb it.
.@jarenhall3 tosses it to @JeshaunJones06 for the score!
📺: @FOX9 pic.twitter.com/c92xnVaBY8
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 17, 2024
Running back (and fullback)
There won’t be much deliberation here. Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu and C.J. Ham are shoo-ins. Jones and Chandler will shoulder the bulk of the rushing workload, and if I were a betting man, I’d wager Ham’s offensive snap count will climb noticeably — at least until T.J. Hockenson returns.
Nwangwu has looked better than ever as a running back this preseason, but his primary role is as a kick returner. The new kickoff rule raises his value, and though he hasn’t gotten many preseason opportunities, he has taken them well in practice.
Down the depth chart, Myles Gaskin and DeWayne McBride have shown flashes of speed, pass-catching ability and vision. Neither, though, has performed to a level that would spur the Vikings to keep five backfield players the way they did in 2022.
Wide receiver
This is where the decisions start to get more difficult. You can Sharpie in the names of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor. The rest of the spots are up for grabs.
How many spots, though? It’s a valid question. Minnesota kept five receivers in 2022 and six last season. Brandon Powell will likely be in the fold, but the decisions involving Trishton Jackson and Trent Sherfield Sr. are murkier. Jackson has raised eyebrows all camp with a stellar showing. Sherfield has not popped as much, but his run-blocking ability is notable.
Keeping all six might be in the cards, but even then, do the Vikings have enough versatility at receiver to run the offense they want to run? Can they run the football effectively with Jefferson, Addison and Nailor serving as blockers? If Sherfield is on the field, will the defenses be clued into a likely run? Minnesota’s staff likely will lean on heavier personnel to maintain the marriage of the run and pass, but for now, the questions are fair to ask.
Tight end
The Vikings can designate Hockenson as an “injured reserve to return” option, which gives them more wiggle room with the roster. That’ll be helpful with this glut of tight ends: Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, Robert Tonyan and N’Keal Harry.
Oliver and Mundt will assuredly be in the fold. Muse, a seventh-round pick in 2022, is likely to make the roster, too. Tonyan presents an interesting dilemma in that he has not practiced in a couple of weeks with what the team described as a “back spasm.” Even when he was healthy, though, he took only a few snaps with the No. 1 offense. That said, his pass-catching ability is undeniable; you don’t record two 50-catch seasons without being dynamic.
The Vikings kept four tight ends last year, but can Tonyan return soon enough to secure a spot? Additionally, would the Vikings be willing to use both of their “injured reserve to return” designations on tight ends? Probably not, which creates another complication.
Offensive line
Minnesota kept 10 offensive linemen in O’Connell’s first season as head coach, then eight last year. Nine seems about right for 2024, and six of them are obvious: Christian Darrisaw, Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O’Neill and David Quessenberry.
Walter Rouse, the Vikings’ sixth-rounder this spring, has proved enough throughout training camp and the preseason to warrant a spot. Like Quessenberry, though, he is a tackle.
The guards remain a puzzle. Dan Feeney has not practiced in the last week after getting rolled up on, and Dalton Risner has not practiced in weeks after suffering a back injury. Meanwhile, Michael Jurgens, the Vikings’ seventh-round pick, has struggled mightily in both preseason games. Don’t sleep on Tyrese Robinson, who last year was a member of the Vikings’ practice squad. He has impressed throughout the preseason and he’s healthy.
This is down to four players for two spots, and unfortunately, it’s hard to be optimistic about the depth here considering these injuries.
Defensive line
The Vikings kept six defensive linemen in O’Connell’s first season and five last year. Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard and Jerry Tillery are likely to start in five-down fronts. Jonah Williams, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Jaquelin Roy, Taki Taimani and Jalen Redmond are vying for positions behind them.
Williams and Rodriguez are likely to make the roster. Williams is a veteran pass rusher who can play the three-technique if Tillery or Bullard is injured. Rodriguez occupies a similar position and possesses a get-off and motor you can’t teach.
Keeping six might be feasible, especially because the Vikings would need a backup nose tackle behind Phillips. Waiving Roy would mean the Vikings have cut two defensive tackles they selected in the fifth round in back-to-back seasons. It’s not the best look, but they’ll be OK with it if they decide Taimani, who has sneakily had one of the best preseasons of any Vikings defender, deserves to make the 53.
Safe to say @drakerodriguez5 loved his first game @usbankstadium.
📺: https://t.co/1IsDXhhpK1 pic.twitter.com/2Jg616trr8
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 20, 2024
Edge rusher
Let’s say the Vikings keep six interior defensive linemen. They did this in 2022 and kept five edge rushers, four inside linebackers, six cornerbacks and four safeties. Keep those numbers in mind.
Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner and Patrick Jones II will be on the 2024 roster. Jihad Ward’s size allows him to slide toward the interior on pass-rushing downs, and he has shown enough for the Vikings to keep him. Sticking with those five would likely mean parting with undrafted edge rusher Gabriel Murphy, who has not practiced in a couple of weeks with an undisclosed injury, and Bo Richter, who has had an exceptional preseason.
Inside linebacker
I’m not sure there is a Vikings player I’m higher on for 2024 than Ivan Pace Jr. He and Blake Cashman are certainties. Kamu Grugier-Hill and Brian Asamoah II might be, as well, with how much Minnesota’s staff values special teams. And the Vikings have kept four inside linebackers in both of O’Connell’s seasons with the team.
If the Vikings make another cut here, Asamoah might be in play. He is speedy, aggressive and physical, but the ball skills remain a question, which is a theme for most of the Vikings defenders selected in the 2022 draft.
Cornerback
Health permitting, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy Jr. will be starting when the Vikings play nickel defense Week 1 in New York against the Giants. Behind them, the coaches have plenty of decisions to make.
Six players could be vying for two or three spots: Fabian Moreau, Akayleb Evans, Duke Shelley, NaJee Thompson, Dwight McGlothern and Nahshon Wright. Moreau, Evans and McGlothern all align best on the outside, while Shelley is better in the slot.
Cutting McGlothern and Wright would leave this position group with little budding young talent beyond Mekhi Blackmon, who recently underwent ACL surgery. The Vikings might feel they can continue to use their salary cap space to plug holes at the position — unlike receiver or edge rusher — but it sure would be nice to see them develop some of their own.
GO DEEPER
Stephon Gilmore’s signing adds intrigue to Brian Flores’ ascending Vikings defense
Safety
The decisions don’t get easier here. While Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson will surely make the 53-man, there’s a pileup behind them.
Jay Ward, a fourth-round pick from 2023, played nearly 70 percent of the Vikings’ special teams snaps last season. Even though he was flagged several times for offside, Minnesota might choose to keep a core contributor to that unit. Then there’s Lewis Cine, who Saturday put together his best performance as a Viking. Moving on from him would mean absorbing a sizable dead cap hit, but the Vikings might be willing to pay the present tax for the future dividends of another young roster spot.
GO DEEPER
Vikings stock report: Risers and fallers from preseason game vs. Browns
Keep five, including Ward, and the cornerback decisions become tougher. Keep six, including Ward and Cine, and the cornerback choices become nearly impossible. It’s also worth mentioning Bobby McCain, whom defensive coordinator Brian Flores appreciates for his versatility. His inclusion on the 53-man would toss the decision-making apparatus into an uncertain orbit.
Special teams
No need to drone on here. Andrew DePaola, Will Reichard and Ryan Wright will be the Vikings’ specialists for 2024. I’d describe the feelings around these three as optimistic.
Will Reichard just went, like, 8-8. Think he hit from 58 or something. He was so dialed that he hit this metal pole in the middle of the uprights twice. Heavens.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 20, 2024
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
