All Eyes Turn to 3 Popular Vikings on the Roster Bubble
The Minnesota Vikings’ regular season gets underway in 19 days, a date in New Jersey with the New York Giants.
All Eyes Turn to 3 Popular Vikings on the Roster Bubble
Before that, the club will trim its roster from 91 players to 53 — in one week.
And with that deadline looming, three prominent Vikings are on the roster bubble. These are those men listed alphabetically.
1. Lewis Cine (S)
Minnesota defeated the Cleveland Browns in Saturday’s preseason game, 27-12, and Cine experienced ample playing time. During that tryst, he produced the game of his NFL life, banking an interception, sack, a humongous QB hit, and 11 total tackles.
The young defender very much looked the part of a 1st-Round pick, the first time any Vikings fan could proffer such a statement in the last 28 months. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made Cine the first draft pick of his tenure — infamously passing on Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton — and the Georgia alumnus has disappointed to date, mostly because of a broken leg in October 2022.
But will one “meaningless” game be enough to keep Cine inside a deep safety room? He might be the safest on this list, all things considered.
2. Dalton Risner (OG)
The Vikings will likely release Risner during roster trimdowns, two sources tell VikingsTerritory. It’s 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.
Of course, Risner adds tremendous depth when healthy, so cutting ties with him seems strange. That — and he’s a wonderful pass protector. But Minnesota could pivot to Dan Feeney or Michael Jurgens at guard in a pinch.
3. Duke Shelley (CB)
These are the Vikings corners as of August 20th:
- Stephon Gilmore
- Byron Murphy
- Shaquill Griffin
- Akayleb Evans
- Fabian Moreau
- Nahshon Wright
- A.J. Green III
- Jacobi Francis
- Duke Shelley
- Jaylin Williams
- Dwight McGlothern
- NaJee Thompson (PUP)
Brian Flores’ defense will keep 5-6 CBs for the regular season, and when Minnesota dropped its first unofficial depth chart two weeks ago, Shelley nestled in around CB8-CB9. That doesn’t seem like a man heading toward the regular season roster.
Stranger things have happened, but Shelley feels like a roster cut in the making. He’ll need an upset to remain in Minnesota, especially after Gilmore signed with the franchise on Monday.
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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 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.
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