The Minnesota Vikings have a tough next few weeks before they head into the regular season. They are tasked with a ton of different roster decisions they’ll need to make. The most important decision that they will make will be their starting quarterback, whether it be Sam Darnold or JJ McCarthy.
Before they make that decision though, Minnesota will need to make some roster cuts to get down to the 53-man limit. Not every player that plays in the preseason will crack the regular season roster.
There are a few names that will definitely find themselves on the chopping block in the next few weeks.
When looking at a team’s training camp roster, they usually carry a ton of depth at positions that they’re not certain about. For example, if a team has a superstar quarterback but a bad backup, they may want to carry four or five training camp quarterbacks in order to have a serious battle for the backup and third string spot.
This is the situation that the Vikings are in with their linebacker room. They’re carrying a good number of bodies and they all can’t make the 53 man roster. The player who sticks out as the first and more obvious player to get cut in the coming weeks would be inside linebacker Jabril Cox.
Cox is a former fourth round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. He’s played in 26 games, recording 10 tackles since he was drafted in 2021. The issue here is he’s not a standout player and he hasn’t put together the best camp for the Vikings. The team will have no issue with cutting him or moving him to the practice squad in the coming weeks. Football and the NFL is just a big business at the end of the day.
To be an NFL tight end in this generation of football, you have to stand out. There’s a ton of 4.8 40-yard dash runners who are 6-foot-6 with good hands. You need to be a standout in something. Whether it be blocking, speed, route running, size or the ability to secure catches, if you don’t have a standout feature, you won’t make it. That’s especially true in the NFL, even as a backup.
Sadly for Vikings tight end, Nick Muse, he just doesn’t stand out. The Vikings brought in eight tight ends into camp this year and Muse has found himself at the bottom of the depth chart because he’s not a standout in any aspect of the game. Minnesota will be going with TJ Hockenson and Robert Tonyan as their top two contributors with a fight for the third and potentially fourth spot. Muse isn’t really in the race though.
He could find himself on a practice squad and maybe even the 53-man roster of a team that severely lacks depth at the position. But the Vikings have their guys and it’s not going to be Muse.
One of the more interesting story lines of the entire offseason has been the Minnesota Vikings quarterback room. Their quarterback room is right up there with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the most interesting QB battle coming into the year.
Every time it’s mentioned, the battle is between Sam Darnold and rookie JJ McCarthy. But the first unofficial depth chart has McCarthy as the co-backup with Nick Mullens. Placing these two on the same level should seal the fate for the Vikings’ fourth quarterback, Jaren Hall.
Teams will typically carry three quarterbacks on their active roster. Darnold, McCarthy and Mullens are the obvious choices for the Vikings, which leaves Hall without a spot on the roster after training camp finishes up.
But football is such a violent sport that Hall could end up back with the Vikings if injuries wreak havoc on the Minnesota QB room. Right now, the three signal-callers ahead of him are healthy though to get the call. With the health and production of those three guys, especially Mullens, Hall won’t have a spot with the team.
Now, there’s a slim chance that Mullens absolutely implodes over the next few weeks and Hall steals the QB3 spot, but it’s very unlikely and should be looked at as a longshot.
