Jun 7, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine (6) catches a pass during mandatory mini camp at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings’ 2024 campaign takes another major step on Saturday when the purple team hosts the Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Both clubs currently feature QB1 competitions, two of the only teams in the NFL with such situations. But quarterback isn’t the only spot to monitor for the Vikings in the preseason. The first two players selected by Minnesota in the 2022 NFL Draft appear to be fighting for spots on the regular season roster.
The Vikings released their first depth chart of the season on Tuesday, and at cornerback, Andrew Booth lived around CB5 — also known as straddling the roster bubble. Here’s the CB pecking order entering Preseason Game No. 1:
CB1: Byron Murphy
CB2: Shaquill Griffin
CB3: Akayleb Evans
CB4: Fabian Moreau
CB5: Andrew Booth
CB6: A.J. Green III
CB7: Jacobi Francis
CB8: Duke Shelley
CB9: Jaylin Williams
CB10: Dwight McGlothern
CB11: NaJee Thompson (PUP)
Booth has intermixed with third-teamers for most of training camp, which began two weeks ago. He’ll need a mighty preseason and then some to make the September roster, even though the Vikings’ cornerback depth has undergone tragedy and injuries in the last month.
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis wrote about Booth on Monday, just five days before Minnesota’s first preseason game: “Booth is healthy but he has rarely played. Duke Shelley, Ward and McGlothern have taken most of the snaps with the No. 2 defense. A.J. Green III and 2023 undrafted cornerback Jaylin Williams have earned as many — if not more — reps than Booth.”
Then, the depth chart hit Tuesday, and Booth had notably been lapped by newcomer free agent Fabian Moreau, who joined the franchise a week ago. So, it’s all on the line for Booth, with roster trimdowns less than three weeks away.
Meanwhile, Lewis Cine, the Vikings’ 1st-Round pick from 2022, faces a similar — possibly grimmer — outlook. The depth chart, although unofficial, claims he’s the sixth safety at the moment:
S1: Harrison Smith
S2: Camryn Bynum
S3: Josh Metellus
S4: Theo Jackson
S5: Jay Ward
S6: Lewis Cine
S7: Bobby McCain
In theory, Minnesota could keep six safeties on the regular season roster, but most teams do nothing of the sort. Cine, too, acknowledged his role entering training camp a couple of weeks ago. He seemed to know everything is on the line for him this summer.
“It’s huge, it’s huge for me on a personal note. I think I really gotta show out and really ball out and prove why I should be here and why I deserve to be playing in the NFL. It’s unfortunate that I broke my leg,” Cine said in Eagan two weeks ago. “That’s long behind me. I got the opportunity to learn the defense and not be rushed where something bad could happen again, so now I just have to use this opportunity to show that I haven’t lost a step and I’m that same Lew that you guys drafted.”
Cine recently returned to practice from a leg injury, so he must stand off the page in three preseason games.
It’s worth noting that the Vikings would gain nothing financially from waiving Booth or Cine, but their would-be roster spots could be too precious if the coaching staff considers either man on the bubble.
Unless the depth chart wasn’t a sound indicator of roster standing, it’s all on the line in the next three weeks for Booth and Cine.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.