Predicting the Vikings' Seven Pre-Training Camp "Coronavirus Cuts"
The Vikings currently have 87 players on their roster. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they're going to have to get that down to 80 before camp officially begins. That was one of the notable announcements that came out of last week's negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA, with the other being that there will be zero preseason games in 2020.
I have no idea what the Vikings' decision-making process will be when it comes to making those difficult cuts prior to camp. Will they cut undrafted rookies? Or will they move on from players who have already had a chance to make it in the NFL and haven't proven themselves? Whatever happens, I can say confidently that the seven players being waived will come from this pool of 31 players.
Here's a guess at who those seven players could be:
Non-rookies:
- RB Tony Brooks-James
- WR Davion Davis
- DE Stacy Keely
- CB Kemon Hall
UDFA Rookies:
- LB Jordan Fehr
- DT David Moa
- C Jake Lacina
Explanation:
I looked at a few different things when putting this together: my current projected depth chart, the depth of various position groups, and for UDFAs, how much guaranteed money they received to sign. The four veterans are all towards the bottom of the depth chart at deep position groups. Brooks-James is the No. 5 running back, Davis is one of 12 receivers on the roster, Keely is probably the No. 7 defensive end, and Hall is also in a crowded group at corner.
Fehr, Moa, and Lacina are extreme longshots to make the team, and all three are in the bottom five of the Vikings' UDFA class in terms of guaranteed money. Theoretically, that tells you something about how much the Vikings valued them in that process and how much competition they may have had for their services.
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