3 Trendy Roster Cut Theories for Vikings
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings and 31 NFL teams have until 3:00 pm CST on August 29th to cut rosters to 53 players. For now, most teams have 90 men on the roster, and that changes substantially in less than one week.
3 Trendy Roster Cut Theories for Vikings
Vikings fans have spent about a month of training camp and a couple of preseason games trying to determine who will make the 53-man cut-off, with a verdict right around the bend.
These are three trendy roster-cut theories that weren’t necessarily present when training camp began at the end of July.
1. Jaren Hall (QB)
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spent a 5th-Round pick on Hall in April, and for a team desiring a plan after Kirk Cousins’ eventual departure, he’s the only viable option on the roster at the moment.
The problem, though, is that he doesn’t really look like a QB1 of the future, at least not through a couple of preseason games. His third-string offensive line has done Hall no favors, and he’s looked like a 5th-Rounder — not the next QB1 — accordingly.
At the beginning of the summer, theorizing Hall for a practice squad assignment spelled fear because any NFL team could somewhat easily steal him away from the Vikings. Now, it doesn’t seem like other teams will chomp at the bit for his services.
Nick Mullens is very vividly the QB2; Hall doesn’t have the oomph to win the job yet. He may, indeed, hit the practice squad.
2. Kene Nwangwu (RB)
Nwangwu has battled an undisclosed injury for a couple of weeks — right after getting placed at the RB2 spot on the Vikings first depth chart. He hasn’t played in the preseason, and some believe he’ll hit Injured Reserve.
The young playmaker and special teamer is essentially guaranteed to take at least one kickoff to the house per season, but is that enough to secure a 53-man roster spot? Minnesota employs five other RBs as of late August, including Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler.
Meanwhile, kickoff-returning rules have changed in the NFL, meaning, in theory, Nwangwu may not be quite as vital as a season ago. As a result, Nwangwu has found his way to the ‘roster bubble,’ with some prediction-makers throwing him on IR and ‘calling it good.’
3. Oli Udoh (OL)
Udoh produced a couple of penalties in Preseason Game No. 2, and the pitchforks came out. The man encountered a penalty problem in 2021, fixed it in 2022, and now ‘what have you done for me lately’ has been unkind to the 26-year-old.
Minnesota also moved offensive lineman Blake Brandel to guard this summer, seeming to indicate Brandel can ‘do both’ — play OG and OT in a pinch. If the Vikings keep versatile offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, perhaps Udoh isn’t a roster necessity.
Udoh is still probably safer than folks believe in making the regular season roster, but his stock is at an unexpected low point.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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