4 Vikings Players with the Most to Lose in 2024
The Minnesota Vikings’ regular season is less than four months away, and the club is expected to win seven or eight games, per oddsmakers.
4 Vikings Players with the Most to Lose in 2024
A transformational year on deck, the club will hope rookie passer J.J. McCarthy is the real deal, as that basically defines the next 3-4 years of Vikings football.
Aside from McCarthy — he is on no such hot seat — these are the players with the most to lose in terms of career trajectory, and other men are stealing their roster spots. They’re listed in ascending order (No. 1 = most to lose).
4. Jalen Nailor (WR)
Nailor had a totally golden opportunity in 2023 to make a name for himself during Justin Jefferson’s absence. But he was often injured and ended up with just three receptions.
He now enters a pivotal Year No. 3 — a theme later on this list — and has another golden opportunity at training camp to grab the WR3 job by the neck and make it his own. His competition is not stiff, and he only needs to box out Brandon Powell and Trent Sherfield.
If Nailor produces another quiet season, he likely won’t last in the NFL too long.
3. Garrett Bradbury (C)
Bradbury will be a free agent in 10 months, so he needs an efficient 2023 campaign in which he improves his pass protection. His run-blocking never lags, but his reputation as a mark for thick defensive tackles is well-established.
If it’s “more of the same” from Bradbury via pass-blocking in 2024, the Viking will probably go in a different direction next offseason.
2. Andrew Booth (CB)
Foremost, Booth has to secure a starter’s job in 2024 — that feels like a longshot — and then prove he’s a stud in the league. In the last two seasons, Booth has accomplished neither goal after injuries decimated his rookie year, and then other players took his job in 2023.
It’s Year No. 3 for Booth, and because he was a 2nd-Round draft choice in 2022, the 2024 season is for the marbles regarding his long-term trajectory.
1. Lewis Cine (S)
Cine’s story is similar to Booth’s, but Cine battled a gruesome injury as a rookie. He was reportedly healed by the time 2023 began but then didn’t play on defense until late in the season, and even that was garbage time.
His stakes are elevated — even more so than Booth — because Cine was a 1st-Rounder. Minnesota has plenty of safeties already a lock to make the 53-man roster, so Cine faces an uphill battle. Many already call him a “bust,” and he has one season (this one) to smack down that narrative.
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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