Who's likely to get cut prediction thread

[vike daddy]

with our thanks to @SteelKing728

 

Patrick Jones

The pass rusher has a terrible offseason, and it hasn’t been his fault. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores watched his top three pass-rushers exit the building in March. With Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, and D.J. Wonnum gone, remaining fourth-year player Patrick Jones would surely step into an increased role. 

However, the Vikings added Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and backup Jihad Ward in free agency. Then, the decision-makers traded up for Turner, who will immediately enter the rotation. Undrafted rookie Gabriel Murphy and last year’s UDFA Andre Carter are also talented players who could threaten his job.

Jones went from a potential second or third pass-rusher to a candidate for losing his job when the rosters are trimmed down to 53 players.

 

John Parker Romo

When the Vikings let Greg Joseph walk in free agency and signed former XFL kicker John Parker Romo, the 26-year-old was viewed as the starter simply because he was the only kicker on the team. Adofo-Mensah changed that on Saturday when he added Alabama’s Will Reichard in round six of the draft to kick off a run on kickers.

Technically, there will be a competition, but considering the draft pick the Vikings spent on Reichard, it is hard to envision them sticking with Romo over him. Romo’s selling point is his superior leg strength.

 

Andrew Booth/Akayleb Evans

Once cutdown day arrives, the cornerback position will be a numbers game. Minnesota now employs many prominent players after selecting fourth-rounder Khyree Jackson.

Byron Murphy and veteran signing Shaquill Griffin will each receive a roster spot because they are reliable veterans and should be favored to start. Last year’s third-rounder, Mekhi Blackmon, is the third guy, and fourth-rounders like Jackson rarely get cut immediately. That makes four players. In 2023, the Vikings kept only four cornerbacks; five is typical. Special teamer NaJee Thompson shouldn’t be counted here, although he is technically a cornerback.

So, only one spot will remain for 2022 draft picks Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans. Evans started in 2023 but struggled late in the season. Flores benched him multiple times. Booth has shown flashes of promising play and is a former highly-touted second-rounder, but he was stuck in the rotation behind Evans. It should be noted that Flores hadn’t been around when the two were selected in 2022, but he handpicked the other four guys.

https://vikingsterritory.com/2024/news/analysis/5-biggest-vikings-losers-of-the-draft?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Edited April 29 by vike daddy

[PrplChilPill]

All of those and Cine. 

[skywindO2]

Patrick Jones is the first that I though of 

[Captain Relax]

Nick Mullens or possibly Jared Hall. The Vikings will not be carrying four quarterbacks on the roster.  I doubt KOC is ready to give up on Hall. Mullens is the odd man out.

[SteelKing728]

Thanks for creating this VD.

My guess is that Cine, Booth, Mullens, and unfortunately, Pat Jones are gone.

If Griffin isn't a starter, then there isn't any sense in keeping him. We could really use the draft capital.

There is a chance a team might give us a late round pick for one of these guys, but I think every team knows the writing is on the wall for them.

[SteelKing728]

25 minutes ago, Captain Relax said:

Nick Mullens or possibly Jared Hall. The Vikings will not be carrying four quarterbacks on the roster.  I doubt KOC is ready to give up on Hall. Mullens is the odd man out.

He'll certainly keep 3. I'm thinking McCarthy starts out as QB 3.

[SemperFeist]

1 hour ago, Captain Relax said:

Nick Mullens or possibly Jared Hall. The Vikings will not be carrying four quarterbacks on the roster.  I doubt KOC is ready to give up on Hall. Mullens is the odd man out.

Hall is out unless he can beat out Mullens. 

With McCarthy now the QBotF there’s really no room, or purpose, for a developmental QB3. Hall is going to need to move ahead of Mullens, or he’ll likely find himself on the practice squad or another team. 

If the plan, as many expect, is to redshirt McCarty, then he’s the de facto QB3. I wouldn’t even have him in as the primary backup. Hence, a camp competition between Mullens and Hall for the backup roll. 

However, if McCarthy surprises and winds up the day 1 starter, then I do think Hall gets the nod as the developing long term backup behind Darnold. But I don’t think that’s O’Connell’s plan. 

Edited April 29 by SemperFeist

[Cearbhall]

1 hour ago, SteelKing728 said:

If Griffin isn't a starter, then there isn't any sense in keeping him. We could really use the draft capital.

Completely agree that the Vikings shouldn't keep Griffin if he doesn't earn a starting job.  As far as draft capital, later round picks don't matter enough to think too hard about it.  If it's the third-round pick the Vikings should think long and hard about keeping Griffen on the roster heading into week 10. If they look like they'll be competitive in the playoffs it may be worth keeping him still.  If they are not shaping up that way the team could use the opportunity to give younger guys game action while also increasing their compensatory pick.  That is more a week 10 decision than an initial roster consideration.

Also, if the Vikings want to be able to get compensatory considerations for Risner, today is the day they need to extend the UFA tender.  I would be happy to have him for under $3MM. I would also rather get a compensatory net loss than not in the case the Vikings lose Risner. 

[SemperFeist]

It’s year 3 for the 2022 draft class, which means it’s put up or shut up time.

Sadly, for most of them, I think it’s going to be the end of their time in Vikings uniforms. It’s always tough for players who were drafted to be developed in one scheme, only for the team to change coaches and/or schemes a year later. They may not fit what the new coach wants. Which, I do believe is the case with most of the defensive players from the 2022 class. 

I’m hopeful for Lewis Cine, but not overly optimistic. The most recent reports I read about him was that he was struggling to pick up Flores’ defense. It can’t be easy to digest that playbook under normal circumstances. I can’t imagine how difficult it was while trying to rehab a career threatening injury. Hopefully he’s been able to have his full attention focused on the playbook and working at getting himself better as a football player now that he’s healthy. 

[vike daddy]

2 hours ago, Captain Relax said:

Nick Mullens or possibly Jared Hall. The Vikings will not be carrying four quarterbacks on the roster.  I doubt KOC is ready to give up on Hall. Mullens is the odd man out.

i think they keep the more experienced Mullens over the development project Hall, now that McCarthy is on board and benefits from experienced mentors around him. Hall cannot offer that.

[vike daddy]

my predictions:

** they'll cut Romo pretty quickly, once Reichard establishes himself as proficient enough as a starting baseline. so he can get all the ST reps.

** they'll try lots of different permutations of defensive linemen in and out with each other, so it will be awhile before they make cuts there.

** Hall gets cut. but they'll need his extra arm in summer training camp as the receivers will need reps. that early concussion really hurt his chances, as he didn't produce tape to evaluate and will become some other team's project. maybe.

** i don't follow the CB's close enough to say anything intelligent, but what you guys have written makes a lot of sense.

 

what about Andre Carter II? does he stand a chance? if he was moved to the PS would we lose him quickly that way?

[swede700]

8 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

i think they keep the more experienced Mullens over the development project Hall, now that McCarthy is on board and benefits from experienced mentors around him. Hall cannot offer that.

There's always the potential that they keep Mullens or Hall on the practice squad and call him up as needed because under the new rules, they can elevate a PS QB as an emergency 3rd QB an unlimited number of times. They could list JJ as inactive every week and just call up whomever they put on the PS as the emergency 3rd QB. Yes, they'd lose an active roster spot doing so, but that's a very viable option and would keep them both (which one they cut would likely be dependent on what other teams would be interested in them).

Edited April 29 by swede700

[swede700]

I'm actually not sure about Patrick Jones being on the block as much as you guys believe.  I think he offers versatility that some of these other guys don't, because he can actually showed some promise last year playing DE, rather than strictly being an OLB, so that might give him an edge on being retained...it just depends upon how many guys they want to keep from the DL/OLB positions.  Last year, it was 5 DL, 5 OLB...so, maybe this year, it might be 4 DL, 6 OLB, because of the versatility that Jones could offer.  Bullard, Phillips and Roy are pretty safe options, but then you might have Ward, Williams, and Tillery fighting for one spot (the draftee Rodriguez I'd have to expect will end up on the PS, but you never know). 

So, therefore, on the OLB front, you've got Greenard, Van Ginkel, and Turner guaranteed...for the other 3 spots, you could have Jones, Carter, and Murphy...we also can't forget that ST will have a huge factor in this as well under the new rules. 

Edited April 29 by swede700

[SemperFeist]

5 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

now that McCarthy is on board and benefits from experienced mentors around him.

I’d argue that mentorship is the least important reason to keep Mullens. O’Connell, McCown, Darnold, and Uniski, how many voices does the young man need? 

If Mullens is the best player who can come in and run the offense if Darnold does down, then he gets the job. But if Hall surpasses Mullens in that respect, he should get the job. 

[SemperFeist]

28 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

what about Andre Carter II? does he stand a chance?

I think it all depends on how he’s built up his body during the offseason. He definitely has the athleticism to be effective. But he clearly needed to get bigger/stronger.