These 5 Vikings Have Everything on the Line at Training Camp
The Minnesota Vikings will begin training camp in three weeks — on the nose — a stepping stone to the preseason and eventually the regular season.
Training camp is near, and these five Vikings have everything to lose — or gain. From roster spots to career momentum, the stakes are elevated.
Fans have high hopes for Minnesota in 2025, led by quarterback J.J. McCarthy, while oddsmakers believe the purple team will win about eight or nine games.
And at training camp, several Vikings will encounter do-or-die stakes. These are those men listed in countdown style (No. 1 = player with most on the line).
5. Brett Rypien (QB)
Rypien certainly doesn’t risk falling out of the league or anything similar. However, with the hype train rolling for rookie Max Brosmer, Rypien risks losing his QB3 job in 2025.
Brosmer has turned heads this spring and summer, and there’s a world where he grabs the QB3 post instead of Rypien. And don’t look now, but QB3s for the Vikings have actually seen playing time in the last couple of seasons.
Rypien must fend off Brosmer, hoping Brosmer finds his way to the practice squad.
4. Ryan Wright (P)
Ryan Wright punted like a total stud in 2022, nominated as the team’s primary specialist when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell took over. Since then, he’s struggled to reignite that rookie flair, especially in 2023.
An Australian named Oscar Chapman is on the Vikings’ summer roster, and there’s a slight chance that he has the juice to score the upset at punter.
Minnesota could also sign a veteran free-agent punter if Wright has an underwhelming training camp.
It’s year No. 4 and subsequently put-up-or-shut-up time for Wright.
The Top 3 Vikings with the Most on the Line at Training Camp
From Rondale Moore down to the RB3, it’s go time.
3. Rondale Moore (WR)
The Vikings signed Moore in March, and most fans thought, “Hell yeah.” The man is blazingly fast, hoping for a career reclamation after an injury ruined his 2024 campaign in Atlanta.
Yet, Minnesota drafted Maryland’s Tai Felton about six weeks after signing Moore, and that clogged up the pipeline for Moore’s plans. In theory, Moore could be cut at the end of the summer, and the Vikings would feel virtually no financial pain.
Moore must do enough to secure a roster spot, which might be tricky with veteran Tim Jones (a special team asset) and Silas Bolden (a speedy undrafted free agent) sneaking behind him.
The Viking Age‘s Adam Patrick wrote about Moore in late April, “That uncertainty about his future with the organization only grew during this year’s NFL Draft when the Vikings used a third-round pick to select former Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton.”
“It’s pretty safe to assume Felton will be part of Minnesota’s final roster for next season, which means there’s now one fewer spot for Moore to compete for. Rondale Mooris is in danger of not playing for the Minnesota Vikings next season after results of 2025 NFL Draft.”
Moore, at age 25, still has youth on his side, no matter what.
Patrick added, “While Moore’s chances of making the Vikings’ final 2025 roster took a hit during this year’s NFL Draft, it’s still possible that he could end up with a spot on the team for at least the first month of next season, thanks to Jordan Addison.”
“Whenever Moore is able to get on the practice field for Minnesota, it’s even more clear after this year’s NFL Draft that he will need to make the absolute most of his opportunities if he wants to still wants to be wearing a purple and gold uniform when the 2025 season begins in September.”
2. Brian Asamoah (LB)
Brian Flores’ features three linebackers in his defense with dibs on playing time: Ivan Pace Jr., Blake Cashman, and Eric Wilson. Adofo-Mensah also drafted Penn State’s Kobe King in April.
That’s a problem for Asamoah, who encounters the final year of his rookie contract in 2025. Minnesota notoriously doesn’t use Asamoah on defense, and this summer could be his last ride in the Twin Cities. He must flash enough at training camp and in the preseason to convince the Vikings to keep five linebackers on the September roster.
1. Ty Chandler (RB)
Every time Chandler gets near the brink of a promotion and a hefty workload in the Vikings’ offense, they trade for Cam Akers.
Chandler put a couple of fantastic games on tape in 2023, but thereafter, he hasn’t stood off the page. Therefore, he may be battling for his RB3 job this summer, and if a more attractive candidate becomes available after roster trimdowns in August, the Vikings could pounce.
The 2022 draft class alumnus must show enough this summer to prevent Adofo-Mensah from signing an alternative RB3 like Jaleel McLaughlin or Dameon Pierce if those men get released by the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, respectively.
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