Questions Answered: Vikings’ New Guy Making the Roster, Ed Ingram, NaJee Thompson Implication
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the June 18th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: The New Guy Making the Roster, Ed Ingram, NaJee Thompson Implication
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.
Q: With the Vikings signing the UFL guy at defensive tackle, do you think he’ll make the 53-man roster?
Answer: No, probably not.
These are the men vying for DT roster spots in addition to Redmond:
- Harrison Phillips
- Jerry Tillery
- Jonathan Bullard
- James Lynch
- Jonah Williams
- Jaquelin Roy
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Tyler Manoa
- Taki Taimani
Around five total will make the 53-man cut-off, and while Redmond joining the club is exciting in June, he probably won’t make the active roster. The Cinderella story would be sweet, but these rarely pan out.
Perhaps he’ll join the practice squad. We say no on the September roster.
Q: Is Ed Ingram suddenly a part of a summer roster battle?
Answer: It appears so.
Ingram is apparently in a spot to fight for his right guard gig. Before last week, many believed any Vikings’ OG battle would involve Dalton Risner versus Blake Brandel. While the Risner v. Brandel tryst may still occur, Ingram is in the fold, too.
O’Connell said on the Rich Eisen Show this week, “We bring back Dalton Risner, who’s gonna compete like crazy at the guard spot with both Ed Ingram and Blake Brandel.”
And there’s not much ambiguity from O’Connell’s lips on the topic. Any Risner-Brandel discussions must be retired in favor of threeway thinking involving Ingram. The starting left guard, at least in June, is not a binary choice between Risner and Brandel — the matter is effectively a “the best two out of the three will start at right guard and left guard.” One man will be the odd man out and the next man up when the regular season kicks off in September.
Meanwhile, O’Connell’s top lieutenant predicted this. Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was high on Brandel a couple of weeks ago, and he wasn’t kidding.
“I’m really excited about Blake. I feel like he gets bigger every time I see him. He’s just a massive man on the inside. But he’s in great shape, he’s always been very coachable,” Phillps told reporters at May’s organized team activities (OTAs) about Brandel. “You talk about technique, fundamentals, footwork, hand placement, all the things that are critical for the O-line — one false step for an O-lineman could be a catastrophe — it’s been very encouraging so far with him stepping into that starting spot on the left.”
The takeaway? Ingram is not a shoo-in to start at RG.
Q: Does NaJee Thompson’s apparent position switch to safety really mean anything?
A: It’s bad news for Lewis Cine — a man who doesn’t need more bad news.
The Vikings now have seven safeties on the depth chart, and although they kept six heading to 2023, they probably won’t roll into 2024 with seven. That might break a record.
Cine’s chances of making the 53-man roster were slim entering the summer, and they might’ve shrunk somehow with the Thompson news.
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 MIN 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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