53-Man Roster for Vikings Comes with Shocking Twists
The Minnesota Vikings’ 53-man roster for 2025 has arrived, at least the initial version.
The Vikings’ 53-man roster was announced on Tuesday, featuring some surprising twists, including final cuts and unexpected decisions from Minnesota’s depth chart.
You can read it here.
On the whole, an unusual number of items stood off the page. Last year’s 53-man roster, for example, was much more predictable. This one had zingers.
From bottom to top, these are the zingers (No. 1 = top 53-man roster surprise).
The Vikings’ 53-Man Roster Just Dropped
Here’s the wacky stuff from Minnesota’s regular season roster release.
7. WR Tim Jones In; Lucky Jackson Out
Tim Jones served as a penalty machine throughout the preseason, and Lucky Jackson was a training camp god. In the end, Jackson received the dreaded roster cut, and Jones secured a role on the 53-man roster. For now.
Minnesota could trade for a wide receiver or two, or even sign a newly minted free agent like Trey Palmer. Yet, Jones getting the nod over Jackson completely flipped the script on summer momentum.
6. RB Ty Chandler Safe … For Now
All offseason, Vikings fans envisioned an August roster release for Chandler, whom the team has continually demoted whenever he inched too close to the RB2 job. It’s why general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded for Cam Akers — twice.
However, Chandler was very visibly included on the roster when it was all said and done, accompanied by Zavier Scott, who most believed would win the RB3 job by himself.
In fact, because of No. 4 on this list, four running backs will be a part of the 53-man roster. Kevin O’Connell almost always rolls with three.
5. Only 4 CBs Made the Cut
Minnesota has four cornerbacks ready for Week 1 at the moment:
- Byron Murphy Jr.
- Isaiah Rodgers
- Jeff Okudah
- Dwight McGlothern
Some teams have seven. O’Connell has four. This is a strong hint that a trade (maybe two) or a free-agent signing is afoot. Adofo-Mensah could even re-sign Stephon Gilmore, a five-time Pro Bowler, and call it good.
4. C.J. Ham to IR
Minnesota has a handful of mysterious injuries right now, including wide receiver Jalen Nailor’s hand, and fans don’t know the extent of the ailments.
But when the new roster arrived, C.J. Ham was tabbed for injured reserve, which guarantees he’ll be on the shelf for at least four games. Minnesota kept the aforementioned four running backs accordingly.
Ham has largely avoided injuries throughout his career. Year No. 9 will plop him on IR out of the gate.
3. Max Brosmer Finished the Story
Brosmer earned a roster spot, and that is no surprise if you’ve followed the purple team for the last few weeks. Nevertheless, had someone peeked into the future back in May, for example, and reported that Brosmer would be in line for a roster spot, that person may not have been taken seriously.
Minnesota could not risk waiving Brosmer to force him through to the practice squad, so he is now a backup quarterback, one or two spots away from the QB1 role. It’s unclear as of August 26th if Brosmer or newcomer Carson Wentz will fill the QB2 job.
But wipe that smile off your face: the undrafted Minnesota Golden Gopher did it.
2. Seven UDFAs (!!) Made It
A strange-but-fantastic number of undrafted free agents from April survived trimdowns:
— Max Brosmer
— Chaz Chambliss
— Joe Huber
— Austin Keys
— Myles Price
— Elijah Williams
— Ben Yurosek
Most would’ve predicted one, two — maybe three — about three months ago.
Adofo-Mensah might have some draft deficiencies, but his UDFA game is sharp. Sharp as hell.
1. Gabriel Murphy Dropped
Remember the guy who terrorized everybody in the preseason games? His name is Gabriel Murphy, a 2024 UDFA, who saw the field a smidgen in 2024.
Well, he’s no longer a Viking. Minnesota waived him.
Murphy could be back on the practice squad if he clears waivers — that feels unlikely — but the man who fans believed was on a firm track for the OLB4 post didn’t make the September roster.
Our Janik Eckardt noted on Murphy’s waiver: “Murphy was signed in 2024 as an undrafted rookie out of UCLA. In his final college season, he put up some excellent statistics, 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks, to be exact.”
“Short arms might have played a role in his draft tumble, but the Vikings have proven in the past that they don’t always care about that. The highly-touted rookie then missed most of last year’s training camp with an injury and didn’t return until late in the season. Still, the Vikings kept him around all year, and he appeared in a couple of games.”
If Murphy clears waivers, he should be a Viking again by Thursday.
Eckardt added, “This offseason, he had to fend off special-teamer Bo Richter and undrafted rookies Chaz Chambliss and Tyler Batty, and it looked like he did exactly that in the preseason. The Vikings will still enter the season with the Pro Bowl duo of Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, with Dallas Turner just waiting for his chance to shine after earning a ton of buzz throughout the summer.”
“Behind them, it’s currently only Richter, who has shown massive potential on special teams but not as much on defense, and rookies Batty and Chambliss. If Murphy is out, the Vikings either see one of them as a future puzzle piece, or another edge rusher could be headed towards the Twin Cities. It was the first of potentially many surprises.”
The preseason will continue to inflate players’ value. There’s no better example in 2025 than Murphy. Guy was a stud in the preseason games. Didn’t matter.
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