4 Cut Potential Starters On Vikings’ Roster Ahead Of NFL Training Camp…

With training camp around the corner, the focus shifts from potential free-agent additions to position battles in camp. The coaches must complete their starting lineups, and the players compete with each other to produce a winner. Some positions have already established a clear favorite, but others are complete mysteries.

4 Potential Surprise Starters for Vikings

Who are some players who could slide into the starting lineup that nobody is really thinking about?

The defensive line in 2022, the first season under the new regime, changed from two to three interior starters. Next to guaranteed starters Harrison Phillips and Dalvin Tomlinson, a third one was expected to be Armon Watts, who was coming fresh off a five-sack season.

However, the coaching staff threw a curve ball, and Jonathan Bullard was the third lineman. A similar upset happened last year when folks expected Khyiris Tonga to play a significant role just to see Bullard log over 600 snaps and 14 starts.

This year, once again, the focus shifts to other players, such as free-agent signing Jerry Tillery and last year’s rookie Jaquelin Roy. Bullard is as good a bet as those guys, as he has shown that he is hard to beat in training camp. Two different defensive coaching staffs trusted him with major roles, and there’s no reason to expect a different outcome in 2024. The 30-year-old registered 44 tackles and two sacks last season.

The tight end position is wide open with T.J. Hockenson recovering from a torn ACL. Last year’s addition, Josh Oliver, is primarily a blocking tight end, and Johnny Mundt was used as the team’s top receiving tight end in the final two games sans Hockenson.

While he was doing a decent job, Robert Tonyan is a superior athlete and a specialist in the passing attack. He has spent his entire career in the NFC North, coming off a season with the Bears where he disappeared in the subpar offense. Previously, he was a favorite target of Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.

Although his 2023 season failed to match the numbers he produced in Green Bay, and he turned 30 in April, the early reports from Vikings’ practices have been positive.

The left guard spot has been tumultuous in the last 12 months. While Ezra Cleveland had a chokehold on the position for years, the Vikings signed Dalton Risner and traded Cleveland to Jacksonville. Risner remained in the starting lineup for the entire 2023 season.

After that year, however, he walked in free agency, and Blake Brandel re-signed for premier backup or low-end starting money. When Brandel was penciled in as a starter, Risner returned, surprisingly, for less money.

The coaching staff can now choose between Risner’s experience and longtime backup Brandel, who has drawn a ton of praise from the coaches in recent months. That, combined with the salary, suggests that last year’s depth chart order might no longer be accurate.

Wide receiver K.J. Osborn departed in March after his rookie contract had expired, joining the New England Patriots. The Vikings didn’t add any apparent competitors for the WR3 spot behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, so last year’s emerging contributor, Brandon Powell, is expected to have an increased role.

However, 2022 sixth-rounder Jalen Nailor has been a favorite of head coach Kevin O’Connell, and he recently mentioned the speedy wideout in a presser. His talent is undeniable, but Nailor struggles to stay healthy. If he remains available for the few weeks of training camp and the preseason, he has a chance to show his explosiveness and claim the WR3 spot.

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3 cut candidates on Vikings’ roster ahead of NFL training camp

The Minnesota Vikings are entering a new era without QB Kirk Cousins at the helm. Minnesota never got over the hump in the playoffs with Cousins and they were forced to move on to someone else.

The Vikings also lost edge rusher Danielle Hunter in free agency and have other aging veterans on the roster who are not long for the NFL. This feels like the natural consequence of Minnesota’s team building philosophy during the previous regime. All of the stars from the Mike Zimmer era have now either moved on or are aging out of the NFL entirely. This is only a problem for the Vikings because they haven’t been able to plug holes on the roster as quickly as new ones spring up.

We should give Minnesota credit though, they have several things working in their favor. They now have rookie QB J.J. McCarthy on a cost-controlled contract for several seasons. Superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson signed a massive extension and will be around for a long time. The Vikings also added several key players this year during free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft.

However, there are plenty of players on the roster who should not feel secure in their roster spot.

Here are three Vikings players who are possible cut candidates heading into this summer’s training camp.

Nick Mullens could get pushed out by Vikings’ new QBs

Mullens has been the backup QB in Minnesota since 2022. He is a capable spot starter, but not someone who you would consider to be even a good backup in the NFL.

His roster spot became vulnerable once the Vikings decided to invest significant resources in replacing Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings brough in both Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy as the presumed starter and backup – though nobody is sure which will be which in Week 1. This pushes Mullens down the depth chart.

Minnesota also has Jaren Hall on the roster. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of BYU is considered a developmental QB, which makes him ideal for a QB3 spot on the roster.  This too could push Mullen even further down the depth chart, or at least not leave him with a defined role.

Mullens’ best shot to make the roster is to prove that he is a capable clipboard holder. If Mullens can prove that he has value as a mentor to rookie J.J. McCarthy, then he could find a home on the Vikings once more.

If Mullens can’t prove that, he will have to prove that he is a better option than Sam Darnold. No offense to Mullens, but that does not seem likely.

Will Kene Nwangwu become a victim of the NFL’s new kickoff rules?

The NFL will experiment with XFL-style kickoff rules in 2024. These rules are pretty complicated to explain in their entirety, but the main takeaway is that it changes almost everything on kick returns.

This could become a serious problem for someone like Kene Nwangwu, whose place on the Vikings roster is cemented by being a kick returner and core special teamer.

Just because the kickoff rules are changing doesn’t mean that Nwangwu will become a worse kick returner. In fact, these rules could make him even more dangerous. That being said, the rules could benefit other players too.

If these new kickoff rules entice NFL teams to use some of their best offensive weapons on kick returns, that could incentivize teams to roster fewer core special teamers. This is where the problem arises for Kene Nwangwu.

Nwangwu has not showed much promise as a running back in the NFL, so special teams is all he has. He could find himself in a vulnerable position if someone else on the team flashes potential as a kick returner. Or he could simply lose his special teams work to someone else.

There won’t be space on the roster for Patrick Jones II

The Vikings drafted Patrick Jones II in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, with a pick they acquired after trading away Yannick Ngakoue. Jones II has done little to make a lasting impression on the Vikings, and his job could be in jeopardy.

The main problem for Jones II is competition. Minnesota added both Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard in free agency to replace Danielle Hunter. They also drafted Dallas Turner with a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This significantly shakes up the depth chart and could wind up pushing Jones II off the roster for good.

Andre Carter II, Bo Richter, and Gabriel Murphy will all compete with Patrick Jones II for backup edge rusher duties. That is a battle that Jones II could win, but it does not seem likely. He also does not have as many years left on his contract as other players, which could work against him.