Vikings Players Who’ve Beaten the Roster Bubble
The Minnesota Vikings will reveal their 53-man roster in 10 days, preparing for the regular season, which is slightly over three weeks away.
Several Vikings players have seemingly beaten the roster bubble, solidifying their place on the 2025 team. Here’s who appears to have locked in their spot.
Training camp and the preseason have been used to size up roster battles, and with that process winding down, these players might’ve already beaten the roster bubble. That is — men who once straddled the 53-man roster cut-off and may now be safe.
The players are listed alphabetically.
Vikings Players Who’ve Fought Their Way Off the Bubble
These men are more secure than before per roster safety.
1. Silas Bolden | WR
The moment Rondale Moore blew out his knee against the New England Patriots last weekend, Bolden’s stock shot through the roof. As morbid as that sounds, that’s the reality of the NFL.
Minnesota needs a punt returner, and outside of re-signing Brandon Powell, trading for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Trey Palmer, or rolling with Lucky Jackson as a returner, Bolden could be the go-to commodity as a Moore replacement.
2. Joe Huber | iOL
A dirty little secret about Vikings football right now: the team doesn’t have much interior offensive line depth. It’s Blake Brandel and mostly anonymous players.
Third-string center Zeke Correll broke his ankle on the same day that Moore injured his knee, and Correll’s season is over, too. A few days later, undrafted free agent Joe Huber was seen taking reps at center in Eagan, suggesting a position versatility for the Wisconsin Badger and a possible roster spot around the bend.
Some pundits even labeled Huber as a 5th- or 6th-Round asset before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Draft analyst Tom Mead wrote about Huber in April, “Joe Huber is a fifth-year interior offensive lineman with very good height and weight. He has solid length and hand size and has experience starting at three positions along the offensive line. In 2024, he was the right guard in Nebraska’s zone-heavy run scheme.”
“As a pass blocker, he has good snap quickness, balance, and pad level. He scoops his hands upward, bringing his hips with good placement, solid timing, and solid hand fighting to refit as needed. He was better at using a quick set to engage defenders more quickly. Against power rushers, he displays a very good anchor to limit depth into the pocket. Against the blitz, he displayed good IQ to know his assignment.”
The Vikings are due to hit on an undrafted or late-round offensive lineman. Overdue.
“Huber has a solid base of skills, and his positional flexibility is a fantastic asset. He played 16 snaps at center, so he may also be able to play there. I watched him play against some good defensive tackles, including Derrick Harmon, and he handled himself well. Lateral agility is an issue. He leaves his feet behind, which overextends his body, and he ends up on the ground quite a bit,” Mead continued.
“I think he has some scheme flexibility and could be a valuable backup early in his career, with starting potential with improvement. For a player comp, I’ll give you Nick Allegretti. He also has a wrestling background, had a good anchor, and played to the whistle while having room to grow on twist/stunts and falling off of blocks.”
3. Lucky Jackson | WR
Because Jordan Addison won’t play for the season’s first three games, Rondale Moore is gone for the season, and Jackson has produced a phenomenal training camp, the former UFL standout feels like a relative roster lock.
Jackson has never taken a regular season snap in the NFL, but at age 28, that drought may end for the speedy wideout.
In fact, Jackson could perform WR3 duties for the Vikings out of the gate in 2025, especially if the team doesn’t sign a player like Gabe Davis, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Boyd, or Amari Cooper and doesn’t swing a trade for a man like Adam Thielen or Trey Palmer.
In his personal way, Jackson has won the summer.
Our Kyle Joudry wrote about Jackson on Thursday, “Lucky Jackson can help to assuage these concerns as both a contributor for offense and specials. One wonders if he’s stepping into the Trent Sherfield Jr. role. Be a big-bodied receiver who clears running lanes as a blocker. Make the occasional catch, possibly as a chain-mover or redzone threat due to having good size.”
“And then give Matt Daniels what’s needed to keep the special teams moving. For Jackson, that could literally mean moving the ball as the PR1. Jackson is going into the season carrying a $960,000 cap charge. Becoming the PR1 and WR4 would mean that he has provided Minnesota with tremendous value.”
4. Gabriel Murphy | OLB
Murphy was a revelation in last Saturday’s preseason game, totaling 5 quarterback hits and a sack and a half on 29 snaps. The performance also accompanied his placement on the first 2025 depth chart at OLB4, right behind Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner.
Not long ago, Murphy seemed to be on the roster bubble. His training camp and preseason showings disagreed.
It would feel like a farce if Murphy missed the 53-man cut.
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