The NFL preseason is finally over. The final roster cuts have been made, and with only a few additions to practice squads needed throughout the league, we can finally have a look at who is on your favorite teams roster. With a league that is notoriously fickle, there will always be the late addition or omission from a squad still to come, but for now the teams are final. With this in mind, let us look at the Minnesota Vikings and their roster.
The Vikings roster had some rather unusual personal decisions; the likes of fullback and safety being chief among them. There were some players who should have made the team put to injury reserve. Even some players who were expected to be kept were cut in favor of their younger, cheaper counterparts. With these cuts, the Vikings now boast the fifth-youngest roster in the NFL. For a team in rebuilding mode keeping nine of their 10 draft picks this year on their active roster and the 10th on the practice squad means that the future could be very bright for the Norsemen.
Analysis of the Minnesota Vikings Final Roster
Surprise Cut
Jeff Baca, OT, Fred Evans, DT, Chris Croker, S and Larry Dean, LB.
The most surprising of these cuts has to be Evans. The defensive tackle had proven himself to be a reliable back-up, but at the age of 30 and with NFL teams moving ever more towards younger players, he found himself losing out to seventh-round camp standout Shamar Stephen.
Chris Croker was expected to make the team having been a favorite of Mike Zimmer when he was defensive coordinator over at Cincinnati, but age (34) seems to have caught up on the Safety, and he was informed he would not be kept during cuts. This along with the release of Kurt Coleman and the moving to IR of Jamarcus Sanford creates a very interesting situation at safety. With only four safeties on the roster, the Vikings could find themselves very thin at the position quickly, especially if they are hit with the level of injuries they had last year. During practice earlier this week, Shaun Prater was spotted working at strong safety on a few plays, perhaps indicating a back-up plan if things fall apart quickly.
Surprise Inclusions
Jerome Felton, Zack Line, Christian Ponder and Shamar Stephen.
For those of you who have read my past articles, you will note two of these names I had being cut after the second week of camp (Felton and Ponder); I still hold out hope of a Ponder trade, but more on that later. The most surprising thing about the final Minnesota roster was the inclusion of two fullbacks. In a league where it is said that the fullback is an endangered species, the thoughts of keeping two of them must be considered a crazy one. Perhaps Norv Turner is getting a little crazy at his old age, because that is exactly what has happened. We can only presume that Line’s ball catching ability could lead to him being used at Tight end or that he has impressed enough to become too valuable to cut.
I really expected a very late Ponder trade. With the injury of Sam Bradford and the disasters of Blane Gabbert and Ryan Mallett in Preseason, Ponder must have looked rather tempting in those final few hours after the week 4 games. Perhaps he is a victim of circumstance. It was unlikely that Viking management would have wanted to trade a player with full knowledge of the offensive playbook to the Rams, an opponent they play in week one. It is also possible the Texans are pissed with the trade to take Teddy Bridgewater in the draft, one pick before they would have taken him. Barring a major injury to a quarterback, it is unlikely that Ponder will do more than sit on the bench counting his fully-guaranteed salary this year and will be looking for a new team come February.
Should Have Made the Roster
Antonio ‘Tiny’ Richardson.
Every season there is a player who plays well and for whatever reason just doesn’t make the team. Two seasons ago it was Derrek Coleman, but this season it is Tiny Richardson. The Offensive tackle went undrafted during this year’s draft and many analysts had him as a steal for the Vikings having projected him as a mid-round pick, but the one thing that stopped him having his name called in radio city has struck again. Richardson has bad knees and after the final Preseason game they had become heavily swollen and would need an operation. This is a real shame for a player who proved he had talent but whose body was just unable to withstand the rigors of American Football.
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