All NFL teams had to report their final rosters to the league office by Saturday afternoon. The Vikings were among the last teams to confirm their roster and list the players who were released. With so many players back on the market, the bottom few spots on each team’s “final” roster are subject to change. For example, it seems likely that the Vikings will look to pick up another tight end to back up Kyle Rudolph and Rhett Ellison, and there were a couple of marginal players who made the squad, but who are still at risk of being released to make room for players at other positions of need.
This is the Vikings roster as of yesterday evening:
| Position | Starter(s) | Backup(s) | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | LT-Matt Kalil 75 LG-Charlie Johnson 74 C-John Sullivan 65 RG-Brandon Fusco 63 RT-Phil Loadholt 71 |
LG-David Yankey 66 (R) C-Joe Berger 61 RG-Vladimir Ducasse 62 (FA) RT-Austin Wentworth 79 (UDFA) |
C-Josh Samuda (FA) and LT-Antonio Richardson (UDFA) placed on injured reserve. | |
| QB | Matt Cassel 16 | Teddy Bridgewater 5 (R) Christian Ponder 7 |
||
| TE | Kyle Rudolph 82 | Rhett Ellison 85 | ||
| RB | Adrian Peterson 28 | Matt Asiata 44 Jerick McKinnon 31 (R) |
||
| FB | Jerome Felton 42 | Zach Line 48 | ||
| WR | Greg Jennings 15 Cordarrelle Patterson 84 |
(Jerome Simpson 81) Jarius Wright 17 Adam Thielen 19 Rodney Smith 83 |
Jerome Simpson will be suspended for the first three games of the season. | |
| DL | DE-Everson Griffen 97 NT-Linval Joseph 98 (FA) UT-Sharif Floyd 73 DE-Brian Robison 96 |
DE-Scott Chrichton 95 (R) DE-Corey Wooton 99 (FA) UT-Shamar Stephen 93 (R) UT-Tom Johnson 92 (FA) |
Linval Joseph slightly injured in shooting after 1st preseason game, expected back by early September. | |
| LB | WLB-Chad Greenway 52 MLB-Jasper Brinkley 54 (FA) SLB-Anthony Barr 55 (R) |
WLB-Brandon Watts 58 (R) MLB-Audie Cole 57 SLB-Gerald Hodges 50 WLB-Michael Mauti 56 WLB-Larry Dean 51 |
SLB-Dom Decicco (UDFA) placed on IR. | |
| CB | Xavier Rhodes 29 Captain Munnerlyn 24 (FA) |
Marcus Sherels 35 Jabari Price 39 (R) Shaun Prater 27 Josh Robinson 21 |
Julian Posey (FA) |
|
| S | FS-Harrison Smith 22 SS-Robert Blanton 36 |
FS-Andrew Sendejo SS-Anton Exum 32 (R) |
SS-Mistral Raymond put on IR 26 August. SS-Jamarca Sanford put on short-term IR 30 August. | |
| P | Jeff Locke 18 | N/A | Locke is also the holder for field goal attempts. | |
| K | Blair Walsh 3 | N/A | ||
| LS | Cullen Loeffler 46 | Audie Cole 57*, Michael Mauti 56* | ||
| PR | Marcus Sherels 35* | Adam Thielen 19*, Jarius Wright 17* | ||
| KR | Cordarrelle Patterson 84* | Marcus Sherels 35*, Adam Thielen 19*, Captain Munnerlyn 24* (FA) |
* Already listed on roster at main position.
Colour coding: Free agent signing, Drafted in 2014, Undrafted free agent in 2014, Waived, cut, or left team.
Practice squads can be assembled 24 hours after the final cuts are made (to allow waiver wire pickups and roster adjustments). Practice squads increase from 8 to 10 this year, and the two extra players do not have to meet the same strict criteria as the other 8. The Daily Norseman summarizes the practice squad eligibility rules here.
Generally speaking, any UDFA players are eligible for the practice squad. Likely signings include center Zac Kerin, cornerbacks Kendall James and Julian Posey, defensive tackles Isame Faciane and Chase Baker, running backs Joe Banyard and Dominique Williams, and wide receiver Kain Colter.
Arif Hasan analyzes the cuts here. The Vikings have done well with depth in the last three drafts:
23 draft picks over past 3 drafts remain on #Vikings roster – 8 of 10 from '12, 6 of 9 from '13, 9 of 10 from '14.
— Mike Wobschall (@wobby) August 30, 2014
