5 Things We Learned about the Vikings So Far in August
The Minnesota Vikings’ final preseason game occurs on Saturday, capping an eventful month of games and training camp’s remainder.
5 Things We Learned about the Vikings So Far in August
Next up for Minnesota is a regular season date with the New York Giants in New Jersey on September 8th.
These are the five things we’ve learned about the team since the start of August, ranked in ascending order of importance (No. 1 = most important).
5. Everyone Too High on Big-Name Veterans from Free Agency
Since mid-May, the Vikings have added Dalton Risner (OG), Robert Tonyan (TE), and Duke Shelley (CB), men theorized as roster locks because of name recognition and past performance.
However, with the roster cutdown deadline around the bend on Tuesday, there’s a palpable chance none of those men make the 53-man roster. Onlookers perhaps got excited for nothing. As Mike Zimmer once said, “It’s a young man’s game.”
4. UDFAs the Real Deal
Five undrafted free agents discovered by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in late April have a decent or reasonable chance of making the regular season roster: Dallas Gant (ILB), Jeshaun Jones (WR), Dwight McGlothern (CB), Bo Richter (OLB), and Taki Taimani (DT).
That’s a lot. Plain and simple.
The post-draft hype on men like McGlothern turned out to be real, at least in the summer.
3. WRs Are Set … Panic Was Overblown
Vikings fans asked the franchise to sign Hunter Renfrow or Michael Thomas for months after the draft — basically to “do something” — but they did not oblige.
Fast-forward to the end of the preseason, and the same crowd (this website included) is content with Jalen Nailor, Trishton Jackson, Brandon Powell, and Trent Sherfield at the bottom of the WR depth chart. Minnesota’s coaching staff knew it was just fine at wide receiver, and external panic was overblown.
2. Defensive Secondary Upheaval
The Vikings have added six defensive backs in the last month
- Duke Shelley
- Jacobi Francis
- Bobby McCain
- Fabian Moreau
- Nahshon Wright
- Stephon Gilmore
Francis was released on Friday, but you get the picture. After Khyree Jackson’s death and Mekhi Blackmon’s ACL tear, Adofo-Mensah leaped into action.
1. Vikings Can’t Have Nice Things
An “of course that would happen” moment, rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy played phenomenally during his first-ever preseason game — and also tore his meniscus in the process. He’ll miss all of 2024.
Instead of McCarthy winning the QB1 job outright or earning on-the-job training time sometime in the regular season, he’ll have to watch and learn for all of his rookie year. His injured-reserve placement disqualifies him from returning at all in 2024.
The motto “Vikings fans can’t have nice things” is alive and well.
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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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