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Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection 1.0

Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection 1.0

The Minnesota Vikings had many positive things happen for them in their preseason victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, but now crunch time has arrived. With two preseason games left before the regular season kicks off, players on the roster bubble are running out of time to make an impact to save their spot on the 53-man roster. 

The team has had a slurry of injuries and changes over the last ten days, including a devastating season-ending injury to first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. The season took an unfortunate turn before it even began. With two preseason games left in the books, it is time for my first 53-man roster prediction for the Vikings. 

This projection will be broken down into two categories: rostered and cut. The players bolded are those I believe will be brought back, or attempted to be brought back, on the practice squad once they clear waivers.

I will release one more of these after the conclusion of the remaining two preseason games before the team unveils its initial 53-man roster before the regular season begins. After one preseason game in the books, this is where I believe the Vikings roster stands. 

Quarterback

Rostered (3): Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens & Jaren Hall

Injured Reserve (1): J.J McCarthy

The injury to J.J. McCarthy throws a wrinkle into this position. Sam Darnold is the starting QB for the season, and the rumors that the team is potentially trading veteran Nick Mullens for a draft pick in 2025 will no longer happen. With McCarthy missing the entire season, he will likely land on injured reserve. Keeping Jaren Hall is very likely with the new emergency third quarterback rule on gamedays. Hall has not looked great in training camp or on Saturday’s preseason game, but unless the team brings in another quarterback, I now expect him to be back as the third guy. 

Running Backs

Rostered (3): Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler & Kene Nwangwu

Cut (2): DeWayne McBride & Myles Gaskin

Running back is a position that seems pretty easy to predict. Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler are your primary ball carriers, and Nwangwu is the primary kick returner on the roster. Nwangwu showed flashes as a runner on Saturday. There was thought that McBride could push the team to keep him as a fourth back if he had a strong enough training camp, but I do not believe he has done enough to warrant that move. One of him or Gaskin will end up on the practice squad, and right now, I have that as the more reliable and proven Gaskin. 

Fullback

Rostered (1): C.J Ham

C.J. Ham is a pivotal part of this offense as a blocker and potential weapon in 21 personnel. The team has been seen in more 21 personnel groupings in training camp, so Ham could be more of a ball-carrying and receiving threat this season. He is a likely captain again this season and an integral part of the leadership group. 

Wide Receivers

Rostered (6): Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trishton Jackson & Trent Sherfield Sr

Cut: Lucky Jackson, Jeshaun Jones, Malik Knowles, Ty James & Thayer Thomas

Minnesota keeping six receivers indicates how well Trishton Jackson and Trent Sherfield have played. Typically, I will only predict five wide receivers, especially for a team that likes to use multiple tight ends like the Minnesota Vikings. Still, I think the way Jackson and Sherfield have played forces the Vikings to keep six. Jalen Nailor has also solidified his WR3 role with the team with a great training camp, and he will safely make the roster. I think that Lucky Jackson and Jeshaun Jones are practice squad candidates. The team liked Jones earlier in training camp, but lack of playing time on Saturday makes it hard for him to make the roster. Jackson had some nice special teams plays on Saturday, which makes me believe if the team can bring him back, they are going to. 

Tight Ends

Rostered (3): Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt & Nick Muse

Cut (3): Robert Tonyan, Trey Knox & N’Keal Harry

Injured Reserve (1): T.J Hockenson

Initially, keeping four tight ends seemed like a foregone conclusion, but with Robert Tonyan battling back issues and not practicing, combined with T.J. Hockenson’s advanced progression in his rehab, I only see the team keeping three. Hockenson is likely back after the bye week with his knee injury, and neither Tonyan, N’Keal Harry nor Trey Knox are showcasing anything worth keeping. At the same time, I think the team will roll with the three of Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, and Nick Muse until Hockenson returns. I could see Harry return to the practice squad, but that is about it. 

Offensive Lineman

Rostered (9): Christian Darrisaw (LT), Blake Brandel (LG), Garrett Bradbury ( C), Ed Ingram (RG), Brian O’Neill (RT), David Quessenberry (T), Dan Feeney (IOL), Michael Jurgens (IOL) & Walter Rouse (T) 

Cut (6): Dalton Risner, Tyrese Robinson, Doug Nester, Spencer Rolland, Henry Byrd & Jeremy Flax

Dalton Risner was safely on my 53-man roster as the backup swing guard option when I first wrote this projection. However, after listening to Judd Zulglad on the Purple Daily Podcast unveil his 53-man roster projection, the more I saw the reality of Risner’s future with the team. The team played Michael Jurgens a lot on Saturday, and he has been taking numerous reps with the second team, while Risner has not practiced over the last week or so due to an undisclosed injury. The team likes Jurgens as a potential center option behind Garrett Bradbury, and with veteran Dan Feeney having position flexibility at both guard and center, it leaves Risner, as a guard-only player, expendable. If Risner had been competing at left guard with Blake Brandel, I could see that he would have stayed, but he has primarily been in competition at right guard with Ed Ingram and has not gotten many first-team looks. He played well when he was here last season, but given the injury and lack of true position versatility, I think Risner will be let go. 

Defensive Lineman 

Rostered (6): Harrison Phillips, Jerry Tillery, Jonah Williams, Jonathan Bullard, Levi Drake Rodriguez & Jaquelin Roy

Cut (4): Jalen Redmond, James Lynch, Taki Tiamani & Tyler Manoa

The defensive line was one of the most intriguing positions for the Minnesota Vikings going into this 53-man projection. I currently have six, but I could see them only keeping five. The toss-up here is with Jaquelin Roy and Levi Drake Rodriguez. I believe Rodriguez has done enough to make the 53-man roster, but he is a player who probably could make it back on the practice squad. As for Roy, he has been disappointing this training camp and preseason, but as a former fifth-round pick, I could see the team keeping him around, hoping for further development this season. Jalen Redmond is a name to watch for a practice squad designation once the roster becomes finalized.

Edge Rushers

Rostered (5): Dallas Turner, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Patrick Jones II & Jihad Ward

Cut (4): Gabriel Murphy, Bo Richter, Owen Porter & Andre Carter II

The other intriguing position for the Vikings on defense is how they arrange their edge rushers. Similarly to the defensive line group, the Vikings have had several UDFAs outperform expectations. For now, I have the Vikings keeping their first-round pick and the four veterans in the grouping while hoping training camp standouts Gabriel Murphy and Bo Richter make it back to them on the practice squad. Last year’s undrafted priority free agent signee, Andre Carter II, has not shown nearly enough to warrant a roster spot this season. I could see the team leaning on keeping one of Richter or Murphy on the active roster, either as a sixth rusher or in place of Jihad Ward, but for now, I have them staying at five. 

Linebackers

Rostered (4): Ivan Pace Jr, Blake Cashman, Brian Asamoah & Kamu Grugier-Hill

Cut (2): Dallas Gant & Jordan Kunaszyk 

The position group is set in stone, barring an injury (knock on wood). Ivan Pace and Blake Cashman are your starters, with Brian Asamoah as your rotational piece and Kamu Grugier-Hill as a key special teams contributor. I am slightly surprised the team has not looked to potentially add another player to this linebacker room to compete with Asamoah as the first true linebacker off the bench, but that could also change in the next few weeks. The team signed Jordan Kunaszyk after waiving Jabril Cox with an injury destination on Wednesday, but I believe he is just a practice body for the remainder of the preseason. 

Cornerbacks

Rostered (5): Byron Murphy, Shaq Griffin, Fabian Moreau, Akayleb Evans & Jay Ward

Cut (6): Dwight McGlothern, Duke Shelley, A.J Green III, Nahshon Wright, Jaylin Williams & Jacobi Francis

Injured Reserve? (2): Mekhi Blackmon & Najee Thompson (?)

Corner is the position group most subject to change from now and the final cuts the Vikings will make for a few reasons. The room has already changed significantly with the injury to Mekhi Blackmon and the trade of Andrew Booth Jr. I expect Minnesota to keep six corners. Still, you will see why I chose to break it down this way when we get to the safety position. First off, the potential signing of Stephon Gilmore will change this room drastically; for now, he is not signed, but I still have elected to keep only five. Najee Thompson is likely to get cut, but he has been hurt and hasn’t practiced, so I am not sure what his situation is. However, the team loves his ability on special teams, so I have him on injured reserve for now. Murphy, Griffin, Moreau, and Evans seem like locks to make the roster, and Jay Ward is switching to corner and showcasing special teams’ play and safety versatility. I think he is safe, too. It is possible the team keeps six and chooses to keep Dwight McGlothern or newly acquired Nahshon Wright, but I believe McGlothern can make his way back on the practice squad, and I don’t see Wright impressing enough in time to make the roster. A.J. Green III is a name to keep an eye on. He has shown flashes so far in training camp and could be the sixth corner if the team elects to keep a sixth. 

Safeties

Rostered (5): Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson & Bobby McCain

Cut (1): Lewis Cine

I have the Vikings only keeping five cornerbacks in this first roster prediction because I have them keeping five safeties with the addition of Bobby McCain. McCain can play safety and cornerback and has experience playing with Brian Flores, which could be valuable. I do not see him returning on a practice squad deal, while players like McGlothern and Wright are more likely to. The elephant in the room is Lewis Cine being cut. The experiment has not worked out, and although I think the team will attempt to trade him, I do not see anyone willing to take a flier on the former first-round pick when it is known Minnesota wants to cut ties. 

Specialists

Rostered (3): Will Reichard (K), Ryan Wright (P) & Andrew Depaola (LS)

Cut (1): Seth Vernon

It’s pretty easy to predict the special teams room. Seth Vernon did not have a great preseason game against the Raiders, and while Ryan Wright has not been great for the Vikings, he has done enough to keep the job. Rookie Will Reichard beat out John Parker Romo earlier in camp to win the kicking job and hit a game-winning field goal on Saturday against the Raiders. 

A lot can change from now until the final roster cuts are made, especially with the Vikings being deep at several positions. Tough decisions will be made, and it will be interesting to see how things all shake out. 

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