A Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster projection two weeks ahead of cutdown day

One preseason game is in the books, so it's a good time to take stock of the Vikings' roster.

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Trent Sherfield Sr. (11) celebrates his touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

With the Vikings' first preseason game in the books — not to mention a dozen training camp practices — and just under two weeks left until cutdown day on August 27, it's a good time for an updated 53-man roster projection. Let's dive right in.

Note: Projected starters are listed in bold and all players are roughly ordered within their positions. Rookies are listed with (R) next to their names.

Offense (25 players)

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes against the Las Vegas Raiders in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks (3)

• In: Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy (R), Nick Mullens

• Out: Jaren Hall

Well Tuesday's news was certainly a bummer. McCarthy, who played quite well in his preseason debut against the Raiders, now needs surgery on a tear in his meniscus. If the doctors can trim out the damaged part of the meniscus without much risk for future knee issues, he could be back within a month or so. If he needs a full repair procedure, he'll likely miss his entire rookie season.

Until further notice, I'm still putting the rookie on the roster. If McCarthy winds up on season-ending IR, the Vikings could keep Darnold and Mullens as their two quarterbacks and use Hall as the emergency QB3 off the practice squad, opening up an extra roster spot at another position.

Update: McCarthy is out for the year.

Darnold was sharp on his opening drive with the starters on Saturday. He's now cemented as QB1 to begin the season, regardless of the severity of McCarthy's injury. Mullens, who knows Kevin O'Connell's system, is a nice QB3 (or QB2) to have. Hall struggled to even get passes across the line of scrimmage in the opener.

Running backs and fullback (4)

• In: Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, C.J. Ham, Kene Nwangwu

• Out: Myles Gaskin, DeWayne McBride

This one feels pretty straightforward. Jones and Chandler are the clear top two in the Vikings' backfield, while Ham still has value on offense and special teams. Nwangwu got blown up in pass protection on McCarthy's early interception, but bounced back with a 48-yard touchdown burst that showed off his world-class speed. He's at least needed for kickoff returns with the new format.

Wide receivers (6)

• In: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield, Trishton Jackson

• Out: Jeshaun Jones (R), Thayer Thomas, Lucky Jackson, Malik Knowles, N'Keal Harry, Ty James (R)

The biggest change at this position since earlier in the offseason is that Nailor seems to have run away with the WR3 job. He's had an incredible training camp, making plays on a daily basis, and he carried that over to the preseason opener. It's still unclear exactly when a suspension for Addison might occur. Veterans Powell, Sherfield, and Jackson all deserve spots on this team, especially after the latter went off for 100 yards and a touchdown this past weekend.

Jones has flashed in camp as an undrafted rookie, but he's still a practice squad guy for now. Thomas and maybe one other cut will likely join Jones on the PS.

Tight ends (3)

• In: Johnny Mundt, Josh Oliver, Nick Muse

• Out: Robert Tonyan, Trey Knox (R), Sammis Reyes

• IR: T.J. Hockenson

After watching Tonyan practice in the spring and hearing offensive coordinator Wes Phillips sing his praises, I thought he might have a chance to surpass Mundt as the Vikings' pass-catching tight end in Hockenson's absence. That hasn't happened. Mundt has taken all of the reps with the starters and played well. Because Tonyan has missed time with an injury, he may miss the cut entirely. Muse has proven to be a solid player.

The Vikings could waive Reyes and use the International Player Pathway program exemption to keep him as a 17th practice squad member. They're hoping to have Hockenson back after their Week 6 bye, if not earlier.

Offensive line (9)

• In: Christian Darrisaw, Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill; David Quessenberry, Walter Rouse (R), Dalton Risner, Michael Jurgens (R),

• Out: Dan Feeney, Tyrese Robinson, Henry Byrd, Spencer Rolland (R), Doug Nester (R), Jeremy Flax (R)

This is an interesting one. I could see Risner bumping Ingram out of the starting lineup if the third-year LSU product continues to struggle in pass protection, but I could also see Risner being cut to keep Feeney and his guard/center versatility on the roster. He's a wild card who needs to get healthy to prove he belongs. Quessenberry is Darrisaw's backup, and I believe both late-round rookies are safe.

Defense (25 players)

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive line (5)

• In: Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Jonah Williams, Levi Drake Rodriguez (R)

• Out: Jaquelin Roy, James Lynch, Jalen Redmond, Tyler Manoa (R), Taki Taimani (R)

Teams ideally don't want to waive fifth-round picks ahead of their second seasons, but Williams and Rodriguez have simply been more impressive throughout training camp than Roy. They've both mixed in with the starters in the recent absence of Tillery, who should be back soon after needing stitches on a laceration to his leg.

Outside linebackers (6)

• In: Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner (R), Pat Jones II, Gabriel Murphy (R), Bo Richter (R)

• Out: Jihad Ward, Owen Porter (R), Andre Carter II

The depth of this room is wild. If I could, I'd keep all nine guys on the roster. Turner is going to play a ton alongside Greenard and Van Ginkel, and Jones' experience means he's likely still OLB4. Maybe it's a stretch to project two undrafted rookies to make the cut in this room, but if I'm the Vikings, I don't want to expose either Murphy or Richter to waivers and risk losing them. Murphy is hurt right now but has stood out throughout camp. Richter was excellent against the Raiders.

The depth of this room means I'm cutting a veteran who had five sacks last year (Ward), another promising-looking UDFA (Porter), and one of last year's most-hyped UDFAs (Carter). That's the nature of the beast.

Linebackers (4)

• In: Ivan Pace Jr., Blake Cashman, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Brian Asamoah II

• Out: Jordan Kunaszyk, Dallas Gant (R),

I was tempted to keep Kunaszyk, the special teams ace the Vikings just signed, but I'd like to see him practice and/or hear the coaching staff talk about him a bit first. Grugier-Hill and Asamoah can both play special teams too, and they bring more to the table as backup LBs.

Safeties (5)

• In: Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, Bobby McCain

• Out: Lewis Cine

Cine was a long shot to make the roster before training camp, so missing a chunk of time in there due to injury probably doomed him. Jackson has had an outstanding camp and would arguably be a starter on a lot of teams around the league. McCain could potentially play some slot corner if needed. Jay Ward is still listed as a safety by the Vikings, but he's been playing cornerback for a while, so I'm going to include him there.

Cornerbacks (5)

• In: Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin, Fabian Moreau, Akayleb Evans, Dwight McGlothern (R)

• Out: A.J. Green III, Duke Shelley, Jay Ward, Nahshon Wright, Jaylin Williams, Jacobi Francis

• IR: Mekhi Blackmon, NaJee Thompson

I'm assuming Griffin will return from his hamstring injury in time for the start of the regular season, but it's now been three full weeks, so I'm no longer completely confident in that. Moreau and Evans have been working with Murphy on the first-team defense during Griffin's absence. I've got another UDFA making it in McGlothern, who edges out players like Green, Shelley, and Ward due to his length and playmaking chops. Wright, the 6'4" corner the Vikings got from the Cowboys for Andrew Booth Jr., is a bit of a wild card.

The big question is here is whether or not Stephon Gilmore is coming. That would provide a huge boost to this room.

Specialists (3 players)

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard (46) kicks off against the Las Vegas Raiders in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

• In: Will Reichard (R), Ryan Wright, Andrew DePaola

• Out: Seth Vernon

Wright firmly took the lead in the punting competition during the first preseason game. He averaged 57 yards (45 net) on three punts, while Vernon averaged 45 (36 net) on two.