Vikings Fans Wildly Disapprove of 2 Roster Cuts
The Minnesota Vikings trimmed their roster from 91 players to 53 this week amid the NFL’s August 27th deadline, a process that slices the gameday roster by 40%.
Vikings Fans Wildly Disapprove of 2 Roster Cuts
More transactions could be on the horizon in the coming days, but the depth chart is mostly set with the regular season kicking off on September 8th.
And with roster maintenance in the rearview, Vikings fans emphatically bemoaned these two roster cuts.
Jaren Hall (QB)
The Vikings signed veteran passer Brett Rypien on Thursday and waived second-year quarterback Jaren Hall to make room. The 26-year-old played quite well against backup defenses in the final two preseason games, enough for Hall to garner a cult following among the team’s fanbase.
Accordingly, when news of his waiver hit the wire, fans adversely reacted. An account named Jay Vikingo tweeted, “So you take a guy you’ve barely spent anytime developing that just had a lights our preseason performance that you just spent draft capital on two years ago and waive him for free to get a guy who has more NFL experience that shows he’s terrible. Literally, your entire QB roster right now is ass.”
The Vikings plan to re-sign Hall for the practice squad if he clears waivers.
“I honestly had to check if this was a fake account, wow,” @afro_mancer wrote on Twitter after seeing the Hall roster cut.
@anthonymtsr asked the Vikings organization, “Yall smokin crack today?
And @rhondaleeindc wrote, “How does this make any sense at all? It’s as if the Vikings WANT to go nowhere. If so, I’m certain they’ll succeed … yet again.”
Kene Nwangwu (RB | KR)
Nwangwu, too, departed the franchise, promptly signing with the New Orleans Saints. However, he failed a physical on Thursday and will revert to free agency.
But that didn’t prevent fans from blasting the Vikings earlier this week. Boo Radley tweeted, “One of the most dynamic returners in the league right now, in a year that has a new emphasis on returning the ball in the new system. I don’t get it and I don’t like it.”
@bgauvin32 posted, “Huh thats interesting. He’s a dynamic returner and they dont have much depth at RB. Maybe back on the PS and is a call up on game days?”
@natetakess added, “WHAT THE HELL??? WHO GONNA RETURN KICKS??? DOES THAT MEAN VIKINGS ONLY HAVE 2 RBS? plus ofc CJ Ham.”
Shaun Bowman weighed in, “Had a great postseason, looked good running out of the backfield. Blocking was a bit of a hot mess. Doesn’t make sense (other than protecting QB) they are down to 2 rbs, easy 2 pick up depth rbs though invl Gaskins later. I’m thinking they want to protect one of the defensive guys.”
Nwangwu was a bit of a fan favorite because of his Olympic speed, creating the hostility amid his waiver.
Unlike the Vikings’ quest to add Hall back to the practice squad, it is unclear if Nwangwu will return to the team.
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 Vikings 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.
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