Vikings Quietly Cut 2 Players from Roster
The Minnesota Vikings performed some roster tweaks on Monday, fresh off a win over the Cleveland Browns, saying goodbye to practice squaders Nick Vannett, a tight end, and Vershon Lee, an offensive lineman.
With some roster maintenance heading into Week 6, the Minnesota Vikings said goodbye to two players this week, men who may not return.
The club expects to welcome back a handful of players, a few starters included, from injured reserve, and Vannett + Lee became the odd men out.
Nick Vannett, Vershon Lee Out for Vikings
Minnesota slices two reserve players from its roster orbit.
TE Nick Vannett Released
That’s all she wrote, at least for a while, regarding Vannett’s time in Minnesota.
Vikings.com‘s Craig Peters announced on Monday, “Minnesota also announced the contract for veteran tight end Nick Vannett has been terminated. Vannett played one offensive snap and eight special teams snaps against Cleveland and has totaled four offensive snaps and 20 on special teams in three games this season.”
Vannett signed in Minnesota on August 6th, so he made it almost two months in Minneapolis. The longtime NFLer will hit the free-agent market and hope for work soon as a TE3 or TE4.
OL Vershon Lee, Too
Lee’s out, as well. Peters noted, “The Vikings on Monday announced the following roster moves: Minnesota waived rookie guard Vershon Lee, who had been signed to the 53-man roster on Saturday and played four special teams snaps against the Browns Sunday.”
Lee was sometimes labeled as a center on a few Vikings-themed depth charts and was considered a last line of defense in Week 5 with Ryan Kelly on injured reserve.
Now, like Vannett, he’ll hope for a new NFL assignment before too long.
Ben Yurosek Must Be in Good Shape
Why release Vannett? Well, rookie tight end Ben Yurosek, who has battled injuries so far in 2025, must be good to go. He’s the TE3 on Minnesota’s current depth chart, and with T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver fully healthy, Yurosek must be nearing a clean bill of health. Otherwise, Vannett would’ve remained on the practice squad as insurance.
The Vikings also have 6th-Round tight end Gavin Bartholomew on the Physically Unable to Perform list, as well as undrafted free-agent rookie tight end Bryson Nesbit on the practice squad.
Soon, Yurosek may get a few targets in Minnesota’s passing game.
Donovan Jackson on His Way Back
Perhaps the most noteworthy signal from Monday’s roster tweaks is the writing on the wall for Donovan Jackson, Minnesota’s 1st-Round rookie guard.
Jackson played in the first three regular season games, trending positively along the way, but suffered a wrist injury during a shellacking of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. He flew to Los Angeles for surgery the next day, sidelining him for the European trip against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns.
Minnesota, though, announced on Monday that Jackson will return to practice next week, a clear signal that he may be ready for Week 7 when the Vikings host the Philadelphia Eagles.
SI.com on Ben Yurosek
With Vannett as the odd man out, Yurosek should fully assume the TE3 job, much like Johnny Mundt in past seasons.
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz on Yurosek before training camp: “Ben Yurosek looked like a possible future first-round pick when he burst onto the scene with 43 receptions, 658 yards, and three touchdowns as a sophomore at Stanford in 2021. The former four-star high school recruit has real speed and acceleration as a 6’4″ receiving tight end.”
“He caught another 49 passes for 445 yards the following year. Then, after missing half of the 2023 season due to injury, he transferred to Georgia, who had just lost star TE Brock Bowers to the draft. Things didn’t go to plan for Yurosek in his one season with the Bulldogs.”
Yurosek has seen action this year on 27 offensive plays and 39 special teams transactions so far this season.
Ragatz added, “He was used mostly as a blocker and only caught 15 passes all season, five of which came in one game. Thus, he wound up going undrafted, even though some analysts still forecasted him as a Day 3 pick. Yurosek was a major priority for the Vikings in college free agency. They gave him $254,000 in guaranteed money, the second-highest total of any of their UDFAs this year (Tyler Batty).”
“Despite the down season at Georgia, he’s a big-time athlete at the TE position who can run quality routes and catch the ball. One sign of his athletic juice is that he had 114 rushing yards on 14 carries in college, highlighted by a 50-yard end-around in 2022. Yurosek is also a capable blocker who developed in that area last season.”
Vannett, on the other hand, has notably played 114 games in his vast NFL career. Some team will likely scoop him up to its practice squad before too long.
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