Written By Sam Ekstrom
Since our last projection, the Vikings have played a preseason game, held four more practices, added one man to the roster and had their starting nose tackle maimed in a bar shooting. The first mandatory cut date is not for another 11 days, so things may still get fuzzier before they get clearer.
Some position battles have, however, come into focus since last week, primarily with the lines and the defense. Here is the updated roster projection.
* indicates a change from the first projection
(Starters are listed in Bold and are based on a 1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR offense and a 4-3 defense.)
QUARTERBACKS (3)
QB Matt Cassel
QB Teddy Bridgewater
QB Christian Ponder
The Matt Cassel-Teddy Bridgewater competition seems a little more one-sided than it did at this time last week. Cassel was brilliant is his short preseason appearance against Oakland and backed it up with a strong week of practice, while Bridgewater was average in his NFL debut and went on to throw five interceptions between Monday and Wednesday’s practices. Cassel will start Saturday against Arizona.
RUNNING BACKS (4)
RB Adrian Peterson
RB Matt Asiata
RB Jerick McKinnon
FB Jerome Felton
Nothing new here either. Adrian Peterson will likely not play in the preseason. Rookie Jerick McKinnon looked impressive against the Raiders, rushing for 45 yards on 12 carries. For preseason, that is a quite a workload. Asiata also tallied the Vikings’ only touchdown in a first quarter drive.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5)
WR Greg Jennings
WR Cordarrelle Patterson
WR Jarius Wright
WR Adam Thielen
WR Jerome Simpson
The personnel still looks the same as last week, but I detect a drop in the ranks for Jerome Simpson. He’s had a very quiet training camp. If final cuts were made today, he would probably be on the roster. But with a small cap number on the books for Simpson, it’s possible the team could opt to keep the 6-foot-5 Rodney Smith instead. Stay tuned.
TIGHT ENDS (3)
TE Kyle Rudolph
TE Rhett Ellison
TE Chase Ford
As Chase Ford gets closer to returning from his foot injury, it looks like he will make it as the third tight end. Rhett Ellison had his number changed to a tight end’s number this offseason but is still doing things out of the fullback position. He told me that his hybrid position is called the ‘F back.’
OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
LT Matt Kalil
LG Charlie Johnson
C John Sullivan
RG Brandon Fusco
RT Phil Loadholt
G David Yankey
C Joe Berger
G Vladimir Ducasse*
T Antonio Richardson*
A couple new faces here to replace Jeff Baca and Kevin Murphy. Vladimir Ducasse was a second-round pick who fizzled with the Jets and received a one-year “prove it” contract with the Vikings. Antonio “Tiny” Richardson was undrafted out of Tennessee but has monstrous size at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds – just an inch and 10 pounds away from Phil Loadholt. He’s taken second team reps at practice.
DEFENSIVE LINE (8)
DE Everson Griffen
DT Sharrif Floyd
NT Linval Joseph
DE Brian Robison
DE Scott Crichton
DE Corey Wootton
DT Fred Evans
DT Tom Johnson
The tackle position is no longer set in stone. Linval Joseph was shot in the calf during a nightclub shooting and is out for a couple weeks, while Tom Johnson was nicked up during last Friday’s preseason game. If healthy, both should still make the 53-man squad, but rookie seventh-round pick Shamar Stephen may compete for the back-up job.
LINEBACKERS (7)
SLB Anthony Barr
MLB Jasper Brinkley
WLB Chad Greenway
SLB Gerald Hodges
MLB Audie Cole
WLB Brandon Watts
WLB Michael Mauti
No changes. This has been a stable group since camp began with very few injuries or huge question marks. Jasper Brinkley is probably the most vulnerable starter but has done nothing to lose his grasp on the no. 1 middle linebacker spot.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (11)
CB Captain Munnerlyn
CB Xavier Rhodes
CB Josh Robinson
CB Marcus Sherels
CB Jabari Price
CB Shaun Prater*
S Robert Blanton
S Harrison Smith
S Andrew Sendejo
S Chris Crocker
S Kurt Coleman*
I’ve seen projections that have the Vikings keeping 12 defensive backs, but I don’t buy it. I asked Mike Zimmer yesterday if the team would keep more DBs because of all the injuries, and he indicated that they would not. That means that 11 seems to be the most they would retain. I’ve swapped Shaun Prater for Derek Cox in a youth-over-experience move. Prater has looked good in his limited NFL reps, and Cox has dropped some easy interceptions at camp.
The competition at safety is fierce. Veteran Jamarca Sanford did not play last Friday due to back spasms, and in my view, lost his spot to Kurt Coleman who looked excellent and made an interception. Mistral Raymond seems to be on the outside looking in as he wasn’t even listed by Zimmer as one of the five players competing for the strong safety spot (they were Coleman, Sanford, Chris Crocker, Andrew Sendejo and Antone Exum). Cutting Exum would be a tough pill to swallow, but it seems unlikely the Vikings will keep six safeties. Exum may have to go.
SPECIALISTS (3)
P Jeff Locke
K Blair Walsh
LS Cullen Loeffler
No change. Mike Zimmer said yesterday he would trust kicker Blair Walsh with a 60-yard field goal if the game depended on it.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket. He has previously served as a play-by-play broadcaster in Iowa and South Dakota and has covered Minnesota sports since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.