Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster surprises after roster cuts
The Minnesota Vikings made their cut down on the roster to 53 on Saturday. Some big surprises resulted.
Aside from the surprise trade for Tramaine Brock with the 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings have been relatively uneventful, as far as roster moves are concerned. That all changed around 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Saturday with the announcement of the cut to 53 players.
To start with, the fan’s biggest surprise came when the Vikings announced the release of left guard, Alex Boone. Any fan that tells you they saw this coming is lying to you. Everyone knew the Vikings were throwing out different combinations for the offensive line but most of the time, they all included Boone in the mix.
The cut of Boone was a definite surprise to most. However, the bigger surprise came when they front offices kept Texas Christian offensive tackle Aviante Collins over Boone. Collins may have the quickness to be a better run blocker inside than what the Vikings saw out of Boone.
Keeping six receivers may not be that surprising but few pundits predicted Jarius Wright, Stacey Coley and Rodney Adams would all make the cut to 53. Many speculated their skill sets were too similar to keep all three. However, Coley and Adams both are dynamic returners to go with their after-the-catch abilities. Also, Michael Floyd‘s suspension opened the door for Coley and Adams to both have stellar preseasons.
Jayron Kearse had plenty of downs this preseason but his upside and potential kept him on the squad with Anthony Harris and Antone Exum Jr. The pair flashed just enough big play ability to make the Vikings keep 11 defensive backs. The potential is there for the corners to have a big season; even more so now with the acquisition of Brock.
Anyone that told me Tashawn Bower, Jaleel Johnson, Shamar Stephen and Stephen Weatherly would all make the cut a few short weeks ago would’ve been given an odd look. However, that is exactly what happened. The decision to leave Ifeadi Odenigbo off the 53-man roster most assuredly was a tough one for the purple brass. The seventh round selection was making strides and may make another NFL roster.
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Talking about the cuts would not be complete without mentioning the other two seventh-round picks were also cut. Most will ask the question, why draft so many players when they are just going to get cut? I guess that’s all part of the process.
The kicking duo of Taylor Symmank and Marshall Koehn were also let go. The veterans Ryan Quigley and Kai Forbath showed to be more consistent when called upon during the preseason.
Obviously, the roster may not remain the same for long. The Vikings will have many other potential players to look at now that other rosters are solidified. The team also has to field a ten-man practice squad; the surprises are far from over.
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The Vikings will try to surprise with their play when they open up the regular season on September 11. The New Orleans Saints will be coming into U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the purple in a matchup on Monday Night Football.