The cut-down to a 53-man roster is never easy, but the most surprising cut for the Vikings yesterday was the decision to waive Sage Rosenfels (who will receive half a million dollars in compensation, due to the contract he signed before the season began). Most of the other cuts were at least somewhat predictable, based on the last couple of pre-season games. Christopher Gates at the Daily Norseman explains the process of cut-down, the waiver wire, and assembling the practice squad:
Every player that was cut on Friday that is not a “vested veteran” is subject to the waiver process. A “vested veteran” is a player that has accumulated four or more seasons worth of experience in the National Football League. The Vikings released four such players on Friday … cornerback Chris Carr, defensive end Jeff Charleston, safety Eric Frampton, and quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Those four players, due to their status as vested veterans, automatically become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team they wish immediately. Everyone else that was cut on Friday is subject to the waiver process.
The waiver priority list is still based on records from the 2011 season, and will be until after Week 3 of the regular season. As a result, the Vikings sit third on the waiver priority list, behind only the Indianapolis Colts (who are at #1) and the St. Louis Rams. This basically means that if the Colts want a player, they get him. If the Rams want a player, they get him as long as the Colts don’t claim him as well. The Vikings, as a result, can get any player they want that the Colts or Rams don’t put a claim on.
Waiver claims have to be in by 11 AM Central time on Saturday, at which point we will find out which teams have been awarded which player(s). From there, teams can start building their practice squads.
Dan Weiderer at the Star Tribune has more on the particular moves the Vikings made on Friday, including a trade for an Arizona cornerback:
In all, 20 players were let go. The major surprises were the releases of veteran quarterback Sage Rosenfels and cornerback Chris Carr. Manny Arceneaux was also waived, the only receiver let go.
And late Friday, word surfaced that the Vikings traded with the Arizona Cardinals for third-year cornerback A.J. Jefferson, meaning another cut was imminent.
Rosenfels’ exit will give the Vikings a chance to take a much longer look at rocket- armed 24-year-old quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Terminating Rosenfels’ vested veteran contract will be expensive — he was guaranteed $500,000 in base salary when he re-signed in March. It also means — at least for now — that the Vikings will have to go without a veteran presence in their quarterback stable, with the trio of Christian Ponder, Joe Webb and Bethel-Thompson having an average age of 25.
I had a table of the final roster prepared, but I think I’ll wait until the waiver wire activity plays out before posting it… players who “made the cut” yesterday may still be waived to make room for someone signed off the waiver wire.
