The Popular Vikings Who May Not Survive Roster Cuts
Every summer, the Minnesota Vikings cut a player or two with a popular reputation among the team’s fans.
A handful of popular Vikings are on the roster bubble as cut day looms. Here’s a look at which fan favorites may not survive as Minnesota trims to 53 players.
The 2025 campaign is no different.
The franchise will announce all roster cuts by Tuesday, August 26th, at 3:00 PM CST, and these four players will likely fall off the bubble. They’re listed in alphabetical order.
Fan Favorites Among Vikings Could Miss the Final Roster
The following four players are not expected to make the 53-man roster.
1. Gavin Bartholomew | TE
Bartholomew has a little bit of name recognition for one reason: Minnesota spent a 6th-Round pick on him four months ago.
Since, he’s done nothing. No training camp. No preseason. The Pittsburgh alumnus is nursing a back injury, which will almost certainly bleed into the regular season. He’s likely to hit injured reserve or the Physically Unable to Perform list out the gate in his career.
Our Kyle Joudry noted on Bartholomew a week ago: “Do remember that Gavin Bartholomew is operating from within a favorable position insofar as the Vikings have proved that they do want him. Again, they made the decision to draft him when they could have chosen any number of players. Best case, the tight end gets his body right before too long, allowing him to start proving yet again that he can help Minnesota win football games.”
“Maybe that needs to occur from the practice squad, but there are plenty of players who overcame modest beginnings before having success later on in their career (C.J. Ham, Josh Metellus, and several others on the roster prove as much). All of Yurosek, Bryson Nesbit, Giovanni Ricci, and Nick Vannett are fighting for the final spot at tight end. Gavin Bartholomew is 22.”
2. Tyler Batty | OLB
Batty is a huge human. He’s also 26.
The Vikings turned heads when they signed Batty after the draft, mainly because he was one of the most coveted undrafted free agents on the market. Well, a different UDFA, Gabriel Murphy from the 2024 class, has all but secured the OLB4 job in Minnesota. Bo Ricther might have the OLB5 post.
That would probably leave Batty on the outside looking in, or trending toward a practice squad assignment. If he is waived, another team will likely snatch him. At age 26, his clock is ticking. Some rookies are 21, for God’s sake.
Batty was also injured in the final preseason game. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said, “Tyler Batty, pretty early there, you know, had a right knee that will evaluate via the MRI.”
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness wrote Saturday, “Whenever you hear a coach say the player is going to have an MRI, it’s usually not a good sign for them.”
“Batty was not on a path to make the roster after an uninspiring preseason, and that could make it difficult for the Vikings to cut him, as you cannot cut an injured player without giving them an injury settlement. If the injury is serious, Batty will end up going on injured reserve.”
3. Ty Chandler | RB
Chandler has been attached to the purple enterprise for three seasons. Outside of some 2023 sizzle, he’s never fully blasted off, mainly because the offensive coaching staff doesn’t seem to trust him in pass protection.
He still has a chance to keep his job over the upstart Zavier Scott, but the writing is on the wall that he’ll likely be waived.
Scott has performed well in the preseason and stood off the page at training camp. It’s his time for an RB3 audition in the big leagues.
4. Brett Rypien | QB
Rypien has made a name for himself in the Vikings’ organization because injuries have ravaged the QB spot in 2023 and 2024. In fact, for a few weeks of this offseason, Rypien seemed like the only backup quarterback option in Minnesota.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah later traded for Sam Howell, demoting Rypien to QB3. Now, undrafted free-agent rookie Max Brosmer might’ve taken Rypien’s spot altogether.
Rypien could still make the cut, with Brosmer to the practice squad, but most fans and pundits believe Rypien will be dropped early next week.
In the last preseason game, Rypien also took a big hit. O’Connell said after the game: “Brett Rypien was evaluated for a concussion, but he returned. That was the play there where, I believe the interception there where he got hit in the head. It was enough to get evaluated for a concussion but not enough to maybe draw a penalty on the play. With that, I’ll open it up to you guys.”
A forgettable preseason for the 29-year-old.
Minnesota could also sign a free-agent backup quarterback after roster cuts, further dampening Rypien’s chances for the regular season depth chart.
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