3 Vikings Who May Not Be on the Roster Bubble after All
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings wrapped an unsuccessful preseason per wins and losses on Saturday, dropping a ninth consecutive exhibition game, this time to the Arizona Cardinals.
The purple team hasn’t won a preseason game since 2019.
3 Vikings Who May Not Be on the Roster Bubble after All
The preseason shed light on several roster battles, though, and after three games, these men may not be on the roster bubble — and are perhaps safe to make the 53-man roster on Tuesday.
1. Jonathan Bullard (DT)
Jonathan Bullard probably made the Vikings 53-man roster when James Lynch got hurt for the season on August 3rd. It’s a morbid way to process it, but it’s reality.
The Vikings arguably have suspect defensive tackle depth, and offloading Bullard to free agency wouldn’t make much sense after Lynch’s unfortunate and grim injury.
Ross Blacklock will likely be the odd man out at DT, with Bullard getting the nod for a second straight season in Minnesota.
2. Jaren Hall (QB)
Kevin O’Connell said this week about Hall and the new emergency quarterback rule, “I spent a long time diving in on that the other day because there are some unique rules to that, but our particular setup is exactly the setup where it benefits because Jaren can be on our roster but more importantly be in uniform as that emergency third quarterback on game day. That gives us 49 potential players on game day.”
Hall then played the entire third preseason game against the Cardinals and showed some impressive abilities.
“Just the fact that you can rest easy knowing if a catastrophe happened, an emergency as they call it, Jaren can go in the game and function. Hopefully, we don’t have to have any of those experiences, but it is nice for Jaren to be a part of these trips, be on the field, be in those sideline huddles, hearing the dialogue — it is all part of his growth,” O’Connell added.
That sounds like a man about to earn a QB3 job, not a practice squad verdict.
3. Brandon Powell (WR)
Jalen Reagor played against Arizona. Powell did not. If you’re an NFL player, you should want to be on the sidelines during the final preseason game.
The crystal ball suggests Powell is the team’s WR5, with Reagor hoping the Vikings keep six wide receivers, unlike last year when they started the season with five.
Powell performed adeptly throughout training camp and has ties to O’Connell from the Los Angeles Rams days. Hell, they won a Super Bowl together. He likely earned the WR5 gig in the last two weeks.
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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