Matthew Coller: Answering the toughest Vikings roster questions

Rather than trying to guess what the Vikings will do, let's put our GM hats on and make the calls on the 53-man roster.

Aug 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall (16) calls out before the snap against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-USA TODAY Sports / Caean Couto-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of questions going into cutdown day on Tuesday. Last week with a projected 53-man roster, I attempted to guess how the Vikings would put together the squad. But how about if Purple Insider played general manager? Well, let’s take a shot at answering the toughest roster questions facing the team’s brass…

Three quarterbacks or two?

Last year there wasn’t a single quarterback who was waived that got claimed. That doesn’t guarantee that nobody will claim Jaren Hall if the Vikings waive him but it does make the odds pretty good that they can stash him on the practice squad as QB3 rather than having him take up a 53-man roster spot.

Give Hall credit, he played well during the preseason for a guy that got very few practice reps this summer. Especially on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles, he looked like a competent player who could get the ball to his playmakers with relative consistency and accuracy. The ideal scenario would be another year of development for Hall behind Nick Mullens, setting up for the ex-BYU quarterback to take the QB2 spot behind JJ McCarthy next season.

But despite the time put into his growth over the last two years and the fact he seems to fit well in the QB room, losing a QB3 to a waiver claim would be far from a major concern. As we saw last season, any team that reaches the point of playing their third quarterback is usually in a lot of trouble.

Verdict: Cut Hall, sign him to practice squad

Jackson, Sherfield or both?

Trishton Jackson is more than a random guy who had a good preseason. He’s a receiver who has worked for years on the practice squad to reach this point and finally had a breakout summer. Jackson made plays daily in practice and lit up the preseason unlike any receiver in recent memory for the Vikings. That has to mean something. He also has a similar build and skillset to Jalen Nailor as a downfield threat with good ball tracking ability.

Sherfield didn’t make much noise until the pads came on and then his physicality showed up in his route running and run blocking. He plays with some sandpaper to his game and has a lot of experience on special teams. Like Jackson, he showed up in the preseason over and over. The fact that he has 78 career NFL receptions and a 400-yard season to his name strengthens his case.

Verdict: Keep both

How should they handle the offensive line depth?

The Vikings signed Dalton Risner as “competition” on the interior but that simply hasn’t come to fruition. He hasn’t been on the field often during camp and there was no evidence (i.e. first-team reps) of Risner truly competing with Blake Brandel or Ed Ingram. As much as his pass blocking has been solid throughout his career, his run blocking leaves a lot to be desired and it’s hard to see it ever improving. It makes more sense to keep the younger backup linemen like seventh-rounder Michael Jurgens and free agent pickup Tyrese Robinson. That doesn’t mean they should be completely set. If there are any veterans who get dropped the way David Quessenberry did last year, the Vikings should be interested.

Verdict: Get younger, keep an eye on cuts

Which D-tackles and OLBs stay?

The defensive tackle unit is deeper than last year with the addition of Jerry Tillery and emergency of Levi Drake Rodriguez. Beyond them and Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard, veteran Jonah Williams makes sense. He played nearly 600 snaps on a solid defense in Los Angeles last year and fits a similar mold as Phillips and Bullard. The best-case scenario would have been second-year DT Jaquelin Roy running away with the job or James Lynch, who tore his ACL last year, coming back stronger than ever in Brian Flores’ 3-4ish defense. We just didn’t really see those things.

The practice squad picks could be tough as well. Jalen Redmond flashed a few times in camp and Taki Tiamani has some gap-stuffin’ potential.

At OLB, there are four easy picks for the 53 in Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner and Patrick Jones. After that it could be between Jihad Ward and Andre Carter II. Last year the Vikings only kept five OLB and if that’s the case, Ward is the more experienced and more imposing player. Carter II is a player who would come along with risk that someone could sign him but Ward would have more trust filling in if there were injuries.

Bo Richter earned a lot of fans in preseason too. It would be tough to find a spot for him and another team would really have to fall in love with a handful of good preseason reps to steal him away.

Verdict: Keep the veterans Jonah Williams and Jihad Ward

Can they keep Evans, Moreau and McGlothern?

Last year’s initial cutdown roster only had five cornerbacks. If that’s the case again, then someone has to be the odd man out. They are keeping Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, Byron Murphy Jr., which leaves space for only one more of Akayleb Evans, Fabian Moreau and UDFA standout Dwight McGlothern.

Defensive backs were one of the most likely positions to get poached off waivers so it’s possible that there could be interest in McGlothern. If they lost him, then the element of future development project would essentially be gone within this entire position group.

The tough thing about cutting Evans over Moreau is that the 2022 fourth-rounder showed some promise last season whereas Moreau is a 30-year-old journeyman veteran on his fifth team in five years. At the same time the entire Vikings’ defense is build around veteran and Evans has been given a lot of opportunities last season and during camp to prove that he belongs.

Verdict: Keep Evans and McGlothern

How many safeties?

The Vikings could fill the lower bowl of US Bank Stadium with all the safeties they have. Four players are locks: Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson. The question is whether they should keep Bobby McCain, Jay Ward or Lewis Cine.

Ward’s flexibility at corner and his special teams experience could give him an edge but McCain has a history of playing nickel corner. There aren’t many other DBs who have played in the slot as much has he has.

Cine’s one good preseason game against the Browns shouldn’t sway anything. It’s time to move on.

Verdict: Keep Ward, try to get McCain back on the practice squad

Should they look to grab from waivers?

There are a few spots worth looking at the wavier wire. One of those is offensive line. It looked like depth was going to be a plus going into camp but it hasn’t really played out that way.

Backup quarterback should be on the radar. The Dolphins released Mike White, who was really good against the Vikings in 2022 (although everyone was). Maybe there’s a veteran who loses a job that might be a shade better than Mullens.

Linebacker could be another spot to address. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Brian Asamoah could be on the chopping block as Kamu Grugier-Hill seemed to be set as LB3.

While Ryan Wright won the punting competition, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an eye out for proven punters.