Ozzy Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 39 minutes ago, vike daddy said: Will Ragatz, SI.com: To get you set for cutdown day, let's take a look at the Vikings' entire roster and sort each player into three tiers regarding their likelihood of making the 53: locks, bubble players, and longshots. Quarterback/Running Back/Fullback — Locks (6): Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Nick Mullens, C.J. Ham, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu — Bubble: Jaren Hall, Myles Gaskin — Longshots: Mo Ibrahim, DeWayne McBride, Matt Corral I combined these because it's an easy group to predict. I'm comfortable calling Nwangwu a lock, mostly due to his kick return role. He's also the logical RB3 after earning 97 yards on 12 carries (8.1 YPC) through two preseason games. Hall and Gaskin seem likely to end up the practice squad, especially because the Vikings can have the BYU product in uniform as their emergency third quarterback on game days. Tight End — IR: T.J. Hockenson — Locks (2): Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt — Bubble: Nick Muse, Robert Tonyan — Longshots: N’Keal Harry, Sammis Reyes, Neal Johnson Muse seems to be a lot closer to the good side of the bubble than Tonyan, who has missed a chunk of time during training camp due to injury. Muse has been a consistent playmaker throughout camp. Rookie Trey Knox was waived with an injury designation on Thursday. Wide Receiver — Locks (4): Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell — Bubble: Trishton Jackson, Trent Sherfield, Jeshaun Jones — Longshots: Thayer Thomas, Lucky Jackson, Malik Knowles, Justin Hall I can't see Powell getting cut. He knows the offense well, he's a useful gadget guy, and he was the Vikings' primary punt returner last season as well. The question here is whether the Vikings keep five receivers or six. If it's five, they'll have a tough decision between Jackson (huge preseason, some real upside) and Sherfield (proven NFL production, better run blocker). I also threw Jones in the bubble category as a potential surprise guy due to how good the rookie has been this summer. Offensive Line — Locks (7): Christian Darrisaw, Brian O'Neill, Garrett Bradbury, Blake Brandel, Ed Ingram, David Quessenberry, Walter Rouse — Bubble: Michael Jurgens, Dan Feeney, Dalton Risner, Tyrese Robinson — Longshots: Doug Nester, Spencer Rolland, Henry Byrd, Matt Cindric, Chuck Filiaga The way I see it, the Vikings' five current starters and two backup tackles are locks. Quessenberry has been dominant in preseason action and Rouse has impressed throughout camp. What's left to sort out is the depth on the interior. You've got the rookie Jurgens, veterans Feeney and Risner, and a sleeper in Robinson, plus a few longshots. Complicating things is that both Risner and Feeney have been injured recently. Ingram isn't at risk of being cut, but he might be at risk of losing his hold on the starting RG job at some point. Defensive Line — Locks (4): Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Levi Drake Rodriguez — Bubble: Jonah Williams, Jaquelin Roy, James Lynch, Taki Taimani — Longshots: Jalen Redmond, Tyler Manoa I don't care if he's a seventh-round rookie, I've seen enough to move Rodriguez into the locks tier. He's been that good. Beyond the top four, you've got a handful of players competing for one or maybe two spots. Williams, with his starting experience, is the safest bet. Keep half an eye on Taimani, who is the Vikings' highest-graded player on the entire roster this preseason (per PFF). Outside Linebackers — Locks (3): Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner — Bubble: Pat Jones II, Jihad Ward, Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy, Andre Carter II — Longshots: Owen Porter Jones and Ward both played 600-plus regular season snaps last season. They're on the precipice of the lock section. But I just can't quite put either one in there. What if the Vikings only keep one of those two and go with more youth to round out the OLB room? Richter, Murphy, and Carter have all shown flashes throughout camp. Murphy was trending towards having a good shot at making the team until he got hurt, which could ruin his chances. The depth of this room is ridiculous; even Porter has shown some upside and could wind up on the practice squad. Linebackers — Locks (3): Ivan Pace Jr., Blake Cashman, Kamu Grugier-Hill — Bubble: Brian Asamoah II, Dallas Gant — Longshots: Jordan Kunaszyk I think Grugier-Hill's experience and special teams value makes him a lock. Asamoah isn't far behind him, but it's worth noting that he has graded out lower than the rookie Gant in preseason action. Kunaszyk has a strong track record on special teams in the NFL, but he also hasn't been with the Vikings for very long. Safeties — Locks (4): Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson — Bubble: Bobby McCain, Lewis Cine — Longshots: None If the Vikings keep a fifth safety, is it McCain or Cine? Or is it Jay Ward, who I'm listing as a cornerback in this exercise? McCain is the veteran option. Cine put his ability and potential on full display in Cleveland. This is a tricky one to figure out. A potential trade — Cine for a conditional sixth-rounder? — could also factor in. Cornerbacks — Locks (3): Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin — Bubble: Akayleb Evans, Fabian Moreau, Dwight McGlothern, Duke Shelley, Jay Ward — Longshots: A.J. Green III, Nahshon Wright, Jaylin Williams I don't think the Vikings want to give up on a player with Evans' tools just yet, but I also couldn't quite bring myself to call him a lock. Moreau, who has significant NFL experience, is probably on the good side of the bubble. I might even say the same about the rookie McGlothern, who has been consistently impressive all summer. He's a playmaker. Where does that leave Shelley and Ward? I'm not sure! Wright, who the Vikings acquired for Andrew Booth Jr., is very tall but doesn't have much else working in his favor. Specialists — Locks (3): Will Reichard, Ryan Wright, Andrew DePaola In total, that's 39 locks (19 offense, 17 defense, 3 specialists). If I'm right on those, that's 14 spots that are still up for grabs to some extent. We'll find out who gets them on Tuesday. https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/vikings-53-man-roster-preview-locks-bubble-players-and-longshots- Curious he puts Evans on the bubble, would be surprised if they let him go but who knows. And it probably will happen but getting Wright for Booth, when it is possible Wright gets cut and Booth makes the Cowboys based on his solid aggressive play last week. Curious the though of getting a 6th rounder for Cine. Not sure that would happen honestly but might have to be done if they want to keep the veteran McCain over Cine or keep Ward over Cine. Vikings have tough decisions to make at TE, WR, OL, CB, S, OLB, ILB....all very good problems to have and show the depth they got. Hopefully can keep some guys around that make it through the cut and get them on the practice squad, especially with so few draft picks next year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidvikingfan Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 19 minutes ago, vikesfan89 said: What is the benefit of waiving someone to put on ir instead of just putting them on ir. Or what is the reasoning behind it? When a player is injured on the job they mostly have to be designated as waived with injury to collect their assigned pay and go through the waiver process and if they go unclaimed by the other 31 teams they go on the Vikings injured reserve. Then should the team and player/agent agree to it they can be released with a settlement to be paid for all the weeks they were injured and become a free agent to be signed by the other teams as a certain amount of time must pass before they can be re-signed by the team they were IR'd on or if they feel they were comfortable in the teams eyes they stay on IR with the team until next year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikesfan89 Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 7 minutes ago, solidvikingfan said: When a player is injured on the job they mostly have to be designated as waived with injury to collect their assigned pay and go through the waiver process and if they go unclaimed by the other 31 teams they go on the Vikings injured reserve. Then should the team and player/agent agree to it they can be released with a settlement to be paid for all the weeks they were injured and become a free agent to be signed by the other teams as a certain amount of time must pass before they can be re-signed by the team they were IR'd on or if they feel they were comfortable in the teams eyes they stay on IR with the team until next year. So is there potential to save money if you are OK with the risk of losing the player? Otherwise why not just ir them like they did with McCarthy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikesfan89 Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Anyone know how much money they'll save by trading Booth for a player to be cut? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrplChilPill Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 32 minutes ago, Ozzy said: Curious he puts Evans on the bubble, would be surprised if they let him go but who knows. And it probably will happen but getting Wright for Booth, when it is possible Wright gets cut and Booth makes the Cowboys based on his solid aggressive play last week. Curious the though of getting a 6th rounder for Cine. Not sure that would happen honestly but might have to be done if they want to keep the veteran McCain over Cine or keep Ward over Cine. Vikings have tough decisions to make at TE, WR, OL, CB, S, OLB, ILB....all very good problems to have and show the depth they got. Hopefully can keep some guys around that make it through the cut and get them on the practice squad, especially with so few draft picks next year! Or see if they can get late round picks next year for some of them, and then deal some of those en masse to move up (I'm not holding my breath, here, to be clear). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 28 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said: Or see if they can get late round picks next year for some of them, and then deal some of those en masse to move up (I'm not holding my breath, here, to be clear). Sure but honestly outside of Lewis Cine no one is going to trade away draft picks to get said guys. Maybe Asamoah but the Vikings could cut him, heck they could cut Cine so until the roster is finalized not sure anyone will be trading to get these guys because so many could easily be cut and then said team does not have to trade anything to get them. The Booth and Wright thing seems odd, especially if and when Wright is cut and Booth is not on the Cowboys potentially. Bland, Diggs, Lewis, Carson and then it could very well be Booth for them as the 5th CB. Having a deep roster just shows a ton of spots there is competition which is good but in terms of trade bait, not many guys on the bubble are that really in my view. Murphy hopefully they can hide him on IR or something, Carter they could totally lose him and he will be picked up by another team, same with Ritcher or Patrick Jones. Jurgens could easily be picked up by someone else or one of the TEs if they cut them. Vikings if I recall had a lot of cut guys picked up last year and this year could be the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cearbhall Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 (edited) 4 hours ago, vikesfan89 said: Anyone know how much money they'll save by trading Booth for a player to be cut? The Vikings saved almost a million dollars by trading Booth's guaranteed contract away for a contract they can cut for free. I never thought Wright was going to have much of a chance to make the team. It was a great trade for the Vikings. If the 'boys get a million in value out of Booth good for them. Good for Booth too if he is able to provide any value. It was a good trade for the Vikings no matter the value Booth provides the other team and no matter how little the Vikings get out of Wright. Edited August 23 by Cearbhall 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 On 8/20/2024 at 11:36 AM, SemperFeist said: No one of note Dallas Gant should make the practice squad. He's been pretty solid this preseason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 Trent Sherfield, at one time, seemed like a lock to make the roster. The Vikings’ wide receiver depth now appears to be stronger than we thought it was at the beginning of the offseason, and Sherfield may be left behind. Sherfield had a nice preseason opener, catching three passes for 46 yards and one TD. In the second preseason game, Sherfield only caught one of his four targets for just 23 yards. The veteran WR is sixth on the team’s most recent depth chart, which could be a bad sign. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Brandon Powell are locked, and Jalen Nailor and Trishton Jackson have impressed more than Sherfield this summer. Even if the team keeps six receivers, UDFA Jeshaun Jones has also impressed and the team could prefer his upside over a veteran like Sherfield. Sherfield needs to have a solid performance in the finale to solidify his spot on the roster. https://purpleptsd.com/2024/vikings/vikings-analysis/3-minnesota-vikings-who Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 Apparently Sheffield has been rock solid on special teams. If that’s true, that’s important when filling out the depth chart. With Hockenson out, I still see the team keeping 6 WRS, with Sheffield being one of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 19 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: Apparently Sheffield has been rock solid on special teams. If that’s true, that’s important when filling out the depth chart. good point. valid point. i post a lot of tidbits off the webz so to give themes to discuss, see what people think. some tidbits are from actual journalists who research and study, and some are from fan sites that aren't any more learned than ours. less, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 QB (3): S. Darnold, N. Mullens, J. Hall RB (4): A. Jones, T. Chandler, K. Nwangwu, C. Ham WR (6): J. Jefferson, J. Addison, J. Nailor, B. Powell, T. Jackson, T. Sherfield TE (3): J. Oliver J. Mundt, N. Muse OL (9): C. Darrisaw, B. Brandel, G. Bradbury, E. Ingram, B. O’Neill, D. Quessenberry, D. Risner, M. Jurgens, W. Rouse DL (5): H. Phillips, J. Bullard, J. Tillery, L. Rodriguez, J. Ward ED (6): J. Greenard, D. Turner, A. Van Ginkel, P. Jones II, B. Richter, A. Carter LB (4): I. Pace, B. Cashman, K. Grugier-Hill, B. Asamoah CB (6): S. Gilmore, B. Murphy, S. Griffin, A. Evans, D. McGlothern S (5): H. Smith, C. Bynum, J. Metellus, T. Jackson, L. Cine ST (3): W. Reichard, R. Wright, A. DaPaola Might be a little heavy on the edge guys but getting rid of Richter or Carter would be a mistake. I say consider Ward more of a DL then one has 5 DL and 6 edge. Also could keep another corner but cutting Jackson or Cine a safety could be a mistake also. Not sure Moreau or McCain make the roster but it will be close, one of them could no question. I also do not think Jurgens should be cut and rather keep him as the backup center and let go of Feeney but I could see that opposite happening, but doubt Jurgens clears waivers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 You’ve got one too many. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 30 minutes ago, SemperFeist said: You’ve got one too many. But only 5 corners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 1 hour ago, SteelKing728 said: But only 5 corners Ah. Never mind then. I just counted up the totals. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.