Author: Tim Karels

Before we dive into the final Minnesota Vikings roster breakdown, we need to cover some news and notes that have come up as players are beginning to report for training camp. Perhaps the most important news, and certainly the biggest (literally and figuratively) news, newly acquired defensive tackle Michael Pierce has elected to sit this season out because he is at a higher risk of having serious health issues were he to contract Covid-19. This leaves the Vikings with a big hole in the middle of the defensive line, and as of yet, the team has not signed a free agent to replace Pierce.

The Vikings, along with every other NFL team, have put systems in place to test players and staff daily. Any players or coaches who show symptoms or have come into contact with someone who has tested positive will be placed into quarantine. There have been eight players placed on the reserve/Covid-19 list so far, including Anthony Barr, Justin Jefferson, and Ifeadi Odenigbo. The Head athletic trainer and person overseeing the team’s virus response, Eric Sugerman, has also tested positive and has been quarantined.

Dalvin Cook has reported to training camp. He originally said he wouldn’t report to camp without a new deal, so it remains to be seen if he has changed his mind or if the Vikings are close to signing him to an extension.

Head coach Mike Zimmer, who was on the last year of his contract, has been given a three-year extension. General Manager Rick Spielman is also on the last year of his contract and has yet to receive an extension.

Now on to the final roster breakdown: special teams

Dan Bailey had a rocky start to his Vikings career, hitting 21 of 28 field goals (75%) in 2018. Last year, however, Bailey was much better, connecting on 27 of 29 field goals (93.1%, fourth best in the league). He also made all three attempts from 50-yards and beyond. Bailey also handled kickoff duties last season where he got a touchback on 75.9% of his kickoffs, eighth best in the league. He signed a three-year, $10 million deal back in March.

Britton Colquitt will be back as the Vikings’ punter this season. He was signed to a one-year deal in 2019, and his 45.2 yards per punt average wasn’t great (19^th in the NFL), but the Vikings liked what they saw enough to sign him to a three-year, $9 million deal this offseason.

Austin Cutting is entering his second year in the NFL. He was the first long snapper ever drafted by the Vikings, and he’s under contract through the 2022 season. As a rookie, Cutting didn’t have any bad snaps, which is about all you can say about a long snapper.

Next week I’ll be answering your questions, so reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and get your questions in. Skol!

The end of the 2020 Minnesota Vikings roster breakdown is nearly here. So far, we’ve covered the entire offense, as well as the defensive line, linebackers and cornerbacks. This week, we move on to the safety position.

The Vikings have the best safety duo in the NFL, but they will be tested in a big way this season. With every member of the cornerback group still on their rookie contracts, there is guaranteed to be some lapses in coverage that the safeties will have to make up for. With the departure of both Andrew Sendejo and Jayron Kearse, the safety group will be without two incredibly good backups – so if either of the starters go down for an extended period of time, it could cause trouble.

Harrison Smith has been one of the best safeties in the league since he came into the NFL as a first-round pick in 2012. He has been named to the past five Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro in 2017. The biggest part of Smith’s game is his football IQ – he is a master at disguising his coverage who can do it all, from rushing the quarterback to covering wide receivers. The 31-year old is under contract for the next two seasons and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Anthony Harris, who starts next to Harrison Smith, has a playing style that is a perfect complement to Smith’s. Where Smith plays all over the field, Harris is generally in coverage where he excels. Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of 91.6 in 2019, which was first among safeties (Harrison Smith was second with 91.4). Last season he started 14 games and led the league in interceptions. The Vikings used the franchise tag on Harris, so after this year he will be a free agent. The two sides still have time to come together on a long-term contract, but with the Vikings already paying Harrison Smith a lot of money, it will be hard to shell out eight figures to both safeties.

There is still a chance the Vikings sign a veteran safety before the season starts, but as it sits now, the team has three rookies vying for the two backup safety spots.

Josh Metellus has the best chance of making the roster, simply because the Vikings used a sixth-round draft pick on the former Wolverine. Metellus is 5’11”, 209 pounds, and is a fierce competitor who will likely play mostly on special teams while also mixing in at safety whenever Smith or Harris need a breather.

Brian Cole II is another safety the Vikings drafted, this time in the seventh round. Cole started his college career as a receiver at Michigan but finished at Mississippi State as a safety. He is a work in progress, and while he could play on special teams, it will likely be a few years before he’s ready to see the field on defense.

Myles Dorn is the third rookie safety for the Vikings, although unlike the other two, Dorn was undrafted. He has great instincts as a player, but his lack of speed was exploited in college and it will likely only get worse for him in the NFL.

Do you think the Vikings should go after a veteran safety before the season starts? Reach out to me on Twitter and let me know (@JordanWrightNFL). Skol!

We’re all going through a lot of uncertainty in life, and it’s no different for the Minnesota Vikings players and coaches. Fortunately, things cleared up a little bit last week, as the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams, informing them when players are expected to arrive for training camp. If the Vikings stick to the plan, rookies will show up July 21, quarterbacks and injured players will show up July 23, and the remaining players will show up July 28.

Before we get too far into training camp updates, we continue our breakdown of the Vikings’ roster.

Two years ago, the Vikings had one of the best secondaries in the league. Xavier Rhodes was coming off an All-Pro season, former first-round pick Trae Waynes had taken over a starting role, Mackensie Alexander was looking like a long-term starter in the slot, and the Vikings used a first-round pick on Mike Hughes. Unfortunately, no position was hit harder this offseason than cornerback. Mike Hughes is now the most veteran player in that group, and the Vikings are counting on several rookies to make an impact right away.

Mike Hughes is entering year three and is tied for the most experience among Vikings cornerbacks. An injury cut his rookie season short, and it took him a while to get up to speed in 2019. Hopefully he is ready to step up in his third year and become the team’s shutdown cornerback.

Holton Hill is also entering his third year in the league. His rookie season he saw limited snaps, but when he stepped on the field the undrafted CB out of Texas turned some heads. He was suspended to start his sophomore season, and never fully got on track once he was reinstated. He has an inside track at a starting spot this season, but it’s not guaranteed at this point.

Kris Boyd was a seventh-round pick in 2019 who saw the field in every game last season. He has an advantage over the incoming rookies because he knows the defense already. If he shows up to training camp ready to go, he can grab the third CB spot (which is a starter in today’s NFL).

Jeff Gladney is a first-round pick who will be reporting on Tuesday with the rest of the rookies. The Vikings looked long and hard at all the corners in this year’s draft and decided Gladney was their guy.

Cameron Dantzler was drafted two rounds after Gladney. Third-round picks usually take a couple of years before they are ready to start, but with all the uncertainty in the Vikings’ secondary, he has a chance to compete for playing time right away.

Harrison Hand was drafted two rounds after Dantzler. The Vikings knew they needed a ton of help at CB, so they drafted three in the top five rounds.

The Vikings will likely keep six cornerbacks, so the following players will have a tough time making the final roster.

Nevelle Clarke is the fourth rookie on the team, although he was undrafted.

Mark Fields is entering his second year. The Vikings traded for him last season, and he appeared in one game before being stashed on the practice squad.

Nate Meadors is also entering his second year, and like Fields, he spent most of last season on the Vikings’ practice squad.

Marcus Sayles is on his third team since entering the NFL in 2017. He has yet to see the field.

Who do you think will be the biggest surprise at cornerback this season for the Vikings? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. Skol!

If you’re just tuning in, we’re in the middle of a breakdown of the Minnesota Vikings’ roster. We’ve already covered the offensive positions and are in the second week of the defense. Last week we covered the defensive line, this week we move on to the linebackers.

The rest of the Vikings’ roster is undergoing a fair amount of change, but the linebacker group is still retaining the top three and four of the top five members from last season. Linebackers are often overlooked in today’s NFL, but Mike Zimmer will be counting on this group to stabilize the defense in 2020.

Eric Kendricks has been a good middle linebacker for years, and the rest of the nation is just starting to take notice. He has always been a sure tackler, but this year his pass defense took a leap forward – he was credited with 12 pass breakups, many of which came in high-pressure situations. The 28-year-old was graded as the best linebacker in the league last season by Pro Football Focus and is under contract for the next four seasons.

Anthony Barr had verbally agreed to a contract with the New York Jets last offseason before changing his mind and coming back to Minnesota on a 5-year, $67.5 million deal. Kendricks played the most snaps last year amongst linebackers (947), but Barr was right behind him with 929. It’s questionable whether he’ll be able to live up to the monster deal he signed, but there’s no doubt the 28-year-old made some splash plays throughout the season.

Eric Wilson is the third linebacker, which means he’s technically a starter, but the Vikings were usually in the nickel formation, so he only played 379 snaps last season. Wilson re-signed with the team on a one-year deal, so the 25-year-old linebacker will be back in 2020.

Ben Gedeon will be the primary backup linebacker this season, a role he’s been in since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. The 25-year-old LB only saw the field 102 times last season, but in the past has shown the ability to step in and start games when needed.

If you look at the past two seasons, the Vikings have only kept five linebackers on the opening day roster, but if you look back over the past six seasons, the team averages six. I think this is a year when the team opts to keep six, meaning the following two players will likely make the final 53:

Cameron Smith was a fifth-round pick in 2019 and he saw action in five games last season. He played well when he was on the field and has a good chance of making the roster.

Troy Dye was a fourth-round pick back in April. He won’t play much this season, as it will take him a while to get adjusted to the NFL because of the lack of an offseason – but when he finally sees the field, I think he will make a big impression.

If the Vikings keep a linebacker on the practice squad, it will be a battle between Jordan Fehr, DeMarquis Gates, and Blake Lynch.

Do you think Barr was worth the contract he signed in 2019? Reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know. Skol!

If everything goes according to plan, the Minnesota Vikings will be playing their first preseason game on August 14. To get prepared for the start of the 2020 season, we’ll go through the roster and break it down, position by position. Today, we start with the quarterbacks.

For better or for worse, the Vikings are tied to Kirk Cousins for the foreseeable future. For most of his career, Cousins has been labeled as a good-but-not-great QB. He did a fantastic job of changing the narrative last season, capped off with an impressive overtime win against the Saints in the playoffs – which led to the team rewarding him with a massive extension and tying the two together through the 2022 season.

In 2019, Cousins had a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.3 (the highest of his career). He finished the season with a completion percentage of 69% (307/444) for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions. His touchdown total was tied with Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Deshaun Watson for eighth best in the league, and his low interception mark was beaten by only four quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes last year (Drew Brees, Mahomes, Rodgers, and Russell Wilson).

It’s clear, just based on stats alone, that Cousins should be considered to be among the best quarterbacks in the league. He will be 32 years old when the season starts, but with QBs playing into their forties, Cousins could remain a member of the Vikings for another decade. He proved to me last year that he can help the Vikings win games, but with the departure of Stefon Diggs and an arguably worse offensive line, this will be a big year for Cousins.

Sean Mannion, the 28-year-old former Ram is entering the sixth year of his career and is penciled in as the primary backup to Cousins. I say penciled in because the only thing he really has going for him is his age. Mike Zimmer prefers to have a veteran backup at QB, a player who can step in and lead the team if anything were to happen to the starter.

The bad news is that Mannion has only started two games in his NFL career – throwing 74 passes for zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The good news is that he is on a one-year contract which would only cost the Vikings $137,500 to cut him.

The Vikings will likely keep two quarterbacks on the roster, which means second-year player Jake Browning and rookie Nate Stanley will be battling it out for a practice squad spot. Browning was an undrafted rookie in 2019 out of Washington. He signed a two-year contract this offseason, however, so the Vikings obviously see potential in the 24-year old.

The Vikings spent a seventh-round pick on Nate Stanley this year. During his four year college career at Iowa, Stanley completed 58% of his passes (673/1155) for 8,297 yards, 68 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

Make sure to check out next week’s article, as we dive into the running back depth chart. Until then, reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know who you think should be the Vikings’ backup QB. Skol!