5 New Players the Vikings Could Snag after Roster Cuts
Approximately 1,200 NFL players will lose their summer jobs on Tuesday, with some being welcomed back to their respective team’s practice squad and others hitting the free-agent market.
Five new players could land on the Minnesota Vikings’ radar after NFL roster cuts, with intriguing options to strengthen the depth chart after August 26th.
The Minnesota Vikings, along with 31 NFL teams, will then scour the market for spoils of the cuts, hoping to strengthen their rosters with the regular season less than two weeks away.
The following players could be dropped on Tuesday and subsequently draw the Vikings’ interest. The players are ranked from bottom to top (No. 1 = most likely to end up with the Vikings).
5 Players the Vikings Might Scoop Up After Cuts
These five players could turn the Vikings’ heads.
5. Malachi Corley | NYJ | WR
Corey may not survive cuts in New York, even if 2024 was his rookie campaign with the Jets. He’s listed around WR10 for New York in the preseason, which almost certainly would translate to a roster cut.
The Jets spent a 3rd-Rounder on Corley with a different administration in charge. He produced some wicked good numbers at Western Kentucky. Perhaps Vikings WR coach Keenan McCardell could “fix” the 23-year-old.
USA Today‘s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz forecasted a Corley roster chop a few days ago.
He explained, “Beware the danger of NFL draft comparisons. Dubbed the ‘YAC King’ during his prolific career at Western Kentucky, Corley was widely likened to Deebo Samuel Sr. thanks to his burly build (5-11, 215 pounds) and knack for turning quick hits into long gains.”
“Yet the lasting memory of the third-round pick’s rookie campaign, which featured just three catches for 16 yards, was his Halloween blunder against the Houston Texans in which he willfully dropped the ball before crossing the goal line, negating what would have been his first career NFL touchdown.”
Corley could reasonably slide onto Minnesota’s roster as a WR6.
“New Jets coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey have zero buy-in for keeping a pick from a previous regime, and Corley hasn’t helped his cause with a dearth of positive plays throughout the offseason and training camp,” Middlehurst-Schwartz concluded.
4. Kenny Pickett | CLE | QB
The Browns are on track to keep three quarterbacks; over half of all NFL teams only keep two amid roster cuts. Four would be excessive.
So if Cleveland keeps three for the active roster, all signs point to Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. Pickett would be left out in the cold. Then, Minnesota, arguably needing a better backup quarterback alternative, could poke around Pickett’s free agency.
3. Kendrick Bourne | NE | WR
The Patriots have a strange problem. Besides Stefon Diggs, all their wide receivers are pretty good. None of them is anything better than pretty good, though. And they have about eight rosterable wide receivers.
Some have to go. There’s no way to keep eight or nine wideouts on a 53-man roster.
One, two, or three New England wide receivers will be waived that will turn heads. Bourne, 30, could make sense as a WR3 or WR4 in Minnesota.
2. Damarri Mathis | DEN | CB
The Broncos drafted Jahdae Barron in April, making the roster math for Mathis a little iffy. He could be on the chopping block in a couple of days.
The 4th-Rounder from the 2022 NFL Draft missed some of the 2024 campaign with an ankle injury, and when he returned, head coach Sean Payton didn’t use him much. When given the chance, Mathis has played commendably at times, for example, producing a 65.6 Pro Football Focus grade as a rookie.
Minnesota could swoop in after roster cuts, sign Mathis, and put somebody like Dwight McGlothern on the practice squad.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm predicted a Mathis roster cut this week: “This is not so much an indictment of Mathis as a player; rather, he just seems to have fallen behind some talented DBs in a loaded secondary. He started 17 games in 2022 and 2023 combined, but saw his workload dialed back significantly last season.”
“Pat Surtain II, Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Riley Moss and Kris Abrams-Draine appear to be ahead of Mathis, and the Broncos could save more than $3 million by cutting him if they feel they don’t need his experience and special teams value.”
1. Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | RB
McLaughlin has logged 4.8 yards per rush in two seasons, a commendable stat for a running back who could be waived in a few days.
The Broncos onboarded J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey this offseason. Two preexisting runners will be ixnayed from Sean Payton’s team.
Needing an RB3 upgrade over Ty Chandler or Zavier Scott, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could pounce on McLaughlin or his teammate Audric Estime.
You must be logged in to post a comment.