The lack of a deep receiving threat was the dog that didn’t bark in Minnesota’s road loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Percy Harvin put in a great effort in a losing cause, and (at least statistically: 27 of 35 for 245 yds, 2TDs and a 114.6 passer rating) Christian Ponder did more than enough to win, but few teams can win on the road when you give up a hundred yards in penalties — most of them stupid, avoidable penalties. The score at the halfway point was 17-6, and if anything that flattered the Vikings.

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That’s the opinion of long-time Minneapolis Star Tribune sportswriter Jim Souhan, who seems to be almost disappointed that there isn’t anything to write about this year’s version of the Minnesota Vikings other than, y’know, the actual on-the-field stuff:

Today, Minnesotans face a difficult choice.

What to watch on TV?

The Vikings open the season at the Metrodome against Jacksonville. That’s an option. There’s also “Food For Thought with Claire Thomas.” And a rerun of “My Name is Earl.” And a spicy new drama entitled “Government Access Programming.”

My advice: Avoid the kind of stress and excitement that can lead to myocardial infarction, and choose the Vikings. Your heart will thank you.

This might be the most boring team in franchise history.

This might be the first boring team in franchise history.

Our Vikings know drama. This is the franchise of quarterback controversies and water-borne debauchery. This is the franchise of wacky owners and rampant arrests, like the time Keith Millard told cops that his arms were more powerful than their guns.

This is the franchise that traded hundreds of players and draft picks for Herschel Walker; watched Denny Green issue statements regarding allegations about his behavior from a bunker of unknown location; twice acquired and ditched Randy Moss; landed Brett Favre just in time for him to become famous for texting pictures of his Crocs; had a head coach scalp Super Bowl tickets; and had a starting quarterback coin the term “Slappy” for back-stabbing backups.

It’s been tough tracking the last few names on the roster, as the names at the bottom of the depth chart have been subject to changes as other teams’ players hit the waiver wire. At this time, the Vikings still haven’t finalized their practice squad, still having two open spots to fill Just after I posted this, the Vikings added Kevin Murphy (OL) and Ernest Owusu (DL) to their practice squad roster. This is the roster as of Monday morning:

* Claimed off waivers from Buffalo.
** Suspended for the first three games of the season: doesn’t count against roster until after that.
*** Acquired in trade with Arizona on Saturday.

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.

NFL teams have to cut down their numbers to 53 before the start of the regular season. This is done in two stages, after the third preseason game, teams are only allowed to have 75 players on their roster (down from 90 allowed up to that point). The final cut down comes after the last preseason game. At the Star Tribune, Mark Craig has the list of players waived in the first cut:

Here are the players who were released today. Eleven of them are undrafted rookies:

Bridger Buche.............. G...................... R....... Eastern Michigan
Derrick Coleman............ RB..................... R................... UCLA
Grant Cook................. G...................... R............... Arkansas
Solomon Elimimian.......... LB..................... 1................. Hawaii
Corey Gatewood............. DB..................... R............... Stanford
Levi Horn.................. T...................... 2................ Montana
Anthony Jacobs............. DE..................... R.............. Minnesota
Kamar Jorden............... WR..................... R.......... Bowling Green
A.J. Love.................. WR..................... R.......... South Florida
Tyler Nielsen.............. LB..................... R................... Iowa
Ernest Owusu............... DE..................... R............. California
Tydreke Powell............. DT..................... R......... North Carolina
Chris Stroud............... CB..................... R... Webber International
Kerry Taylor............... WR..................... 1.......... Arizona State
Bryan Walters.............. WR..................... 2................ Cornell

Craig says there were “no surprises”, but a few of these players were certainly mentioned multiple times in the press coverage of training camp, especially Elmimian, Taylor, and Walters. This is probably a useful caution not to put too much stock in training camp reports: the reporters have to file stories — preferably interesting stories — so they’re looking for different things than the coaches are.

The final cuts have to be done by Friday night.