Former Denver Broncos offensive guard Dalton Risner on Monday Night Football during his first start with the Minnesota Vikings. U.S. Bank Stadium, October 23rd, 2023. Risner started for an injured Ezra Cleveland.
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the August 19th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to DustinBakerNFL@gmail.com.
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Answer: No.
We received a couple of hints today from our sources that the Vikings will likely release Risner during roster trimdowns, an odd development after Risner joined the club in May via free agency. The sources didn’t elaborate on the “why” of the would-be release, but Risner is injured at the moment, and the team appears to fancy Ed Ingram as the starting right guard.
Retaining Risner for roster depth seems the wisest decision, but perhaps the purple coaching staff prefers young options like Tyrese Robinson and Michael Jurgens.
We hope we’re wrong, but Risner could be on his way out after a three-month reunion.
Answer: Yes.
Teams don’t pay old cornerbacks contracts worth up to $10 million … just to sit on the bench.
These are the Vikings’ corners after the Gilmore addition:
If not Gilmore starting on the outside of the defense — then who? The three cornerbacks on the field, at least to start the year, will likely be Gilmore and Griffin on the outside, with Murphy in the slot — we think.
Also remember that Gilmore fired up a 74.4 Pro Football Focus grade last season in Dallas. He’s not a middling performer.
A: Over 6.5 wins.
We expect Minnesota to finish 7-10 this year — yes, the same record as last year — mainly because the schedule is so difficult and the NFC North is so competitive.
Everything depends on quarterback play, and we believe Sam Darnold will perform decently inside Minnesota’s offense. A full “Baker Mayfield comeback” season is probably far-fetched, but never forget that Darnold has the arm talent of a former 3rd overall pick. His main problem is turnovers.
If Kevin O’Connell can teach Darnold job security, the sky can be the limit.
We say 7-10 — over 6.5 wins.
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.