Three Players the Vikings Could Target Following the Roster Cuts Deadline

Mike ZImmer
Image Courtesy of Vikings61.com

The deadline for NFL teams to get their rosters down to 53 players has officially passed. For the Minnesota VIkings, the day started out very slowly before sprinting to a finish. The Vikings entered Tuesday with 76 players to their name and whittled that down to 53 while also making a trade for TE Chris Herndon all in the span of a little less than two hours. 

 

There were a few surprises throughout the day. Names like Everson Griffen and Ameer Abdullah don’t appear on Minnesota’s 53-man roster right now while Dan Chisena and Jalyn Holmes have made the list. At least for Griffen and Abdullah, it appears that they will be back with the squad this week after a few players get put on short-term IR. 

At any rate, the Vikings still have some depth issues on this roster despite finding a cheap, high-upside option at tight end. Minnesota sits in the 14th position on the waiver wire, so they will have a chance to add some of the better talent if they so choose to. Here are a few players that might be on their radar following the cuts deadline.

 

S Shawn Williams

 

The Vikings have a couple safety options behind the recently extended Harrison Smith and Xavier Woods. However, neither Josh Metellus nor Cam Bynum inspire a ton of hope behind the two veterans. Shawn Williams on the other hand is a proven veteran that can fill that backup role immediately. 

 

Williams spent his first eight years in the NFL playing for Cincinnati. In March, the 30-year-old signed a one-year deal to join the Arizona Cardinals, but he was among the players cut this week. From an experience standpoint alone. Williams provides a substantial upgrade to the safety position. From 2016 to 2019, he started in 57 of 58 games he appeared in, and he recorded over 100 tackles in 2018 and 2019. 

 

In 2020, Williams began to butt heads with the Bengals coaching staff, leading to him playing almost exclusively on the special teams. Of course, that is something to pay attention to if Minnesota were interested in him, but perhaps a change of scenery is what the veteran safety needs. 

 

WR Antonio Gandy-Golden

 

I know, the Vikings already have a whopping six receivers on their roster right now. That said, Antonio Gandy-Golden, or AGG, is such an athletic freak that you have to at least think about bringing him in. At 6’4 and 220 pounds, he’s a matchup nightmare, and he also has 4.6 speed in his repertoire. While his 2020 season was mostly derailed by injuries, he’s had a very nice preseason, catching seven passes for 77 yards.

 

The Vikings obviously kept Dan Chisena for his special teams presence, but you don’t want him actually running routes. Besides, Ihmir Smith-Marsette has shown throughout this preseason thaat he can be an extremely effective return man, and the Vikings are also expected to bring back Ameer Abdullah. 

 

Finally, I think this week has shown that the Vikings need as many competent route runners as they can find. They have lost Chad Beebe for the season and Irv Smith Jr. for at least a few weeks, plus Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson have been banged up. It makes sense for the Vikings to take a look at AGG. 

 

DE Curtis Weaver

 

If the Vikings were to target someone to stash on the practice squad, I think Curtis Weaver would be a fine option. Weaver has struggled to this point playing NFL ball and is certainly a risky project. However, he brings with him some very high upside that could be realized in the next couple years. 

 

While at Boise State, Weaver recorded back-to-back tremendous seasons rushing the passer from the EDGE position. The 23-year-old has some nice athleticism, and that helped him win Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. During that season, he piled up 18.5 TFLs and 13.5 sacks. The Vikings are already using an RDE by committee approach, why not take a flyer on someone?

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