Every year, every team finds someone on the roster to waive or release that shocks fans and outside observers. For the Minnesota Vikings, that surprise can be as mild as quarterback Kellen Mond in 2022, or it can be as dramatic as Alex Boone’s cut from the roster in 2017.
We take a look at the best candidates to be surprise cuts from the Vikings training camp roster on Aug. 29.
Minnesota Vikings Surprise Cut Candidates for Training Camp
LB Jordan Hicks
The Vikings don’t have a great linebacker room, and releasing Eric Kendricks made it look even weaker. That said, Jordan Hicks hasn’t done much to demonstrate he belongs as a starter. The Vikings would save a modest amount of space against the cap cutting Hicks, but the more important impact would be to free up roster space to alleviate pressure at other positions — like cornerback, receiver, or tight end.
While the Vikings don’t have an obvious candidate to take over the role — Troy Dye, Troy Reeder, and undrafted free agent rookie Ivan Pace Jr. could all step up — there’s a somewhat good chance that the next-best linebacker on the roster could get close enough to Hicks’ level of production to justify using that roster spot elsewhere.
DL D.J. Wonnum
After the Vikings traded away Za’Darius Smith, the idea that they might intentionally carve out more of their edge rusher depth seems ludicrous. The position was already looking thin before losing Smith, and the possibility of a Danielle Hunter holdout intensifies the concern. But if the Vikings resolve the Hunter situation, they might be able to take a look at their EDGE group and focus on the players who have the best chance of making a future impact.
In that scenario, Hunter and Marcus Davenport would be established as the starting edge rushers, and Patrick Jones II could become the next man up, even though Wonnum has primarily taken that role in the past.
Rookie undrafted free agent Andre Carter II could compete for a role, as could a second-year pro from last year’s undrafted free agent class, Luiji Vilain.
Wonnum has very little guaranteed left on his contract, so letting go of him would free up a couple of million dollars in cap space.
OL Garrett Bradbury
The Vikings don’t have many interior offensive linemen, but the players they do have there have all cross-trained at center. Garrett Bradbury, who put the best year of his career together in 2022, still has had issues being consistent, especially in pass protection. While his upside as an athletic run blocker for zone schemes can be tantalizing, an attempt to develop him further may look like a lost cause to the team.
In that case, they might run with Austin Schlottmann or Chris Reed at center, with the outside possibility that they give second-year lineman Josh Sokol a shot at the position.
While none of these players inspire confidence, it may give the Vikings room to roster additional linemen elsewhere that are tougher to keep with the current roster math — Vederian Lowe, Blake Brandel, and Oli Udoh are all nominally tackles and keeping the three of them along with the two starters is difficult unless cuts are made elsewhere.
DL Dean Lowry
The Vikings signed one of the best interior defenders of 2021 when they acquired Dean Lowry, formerly of the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately, Lowry did not continue the feat into last year, where he struggled.
It’s always tempting to assume players will positively regress to the best versions of themselves, but it’s a familiar tale for a number of veterans across the league — a down year turning into an opportunity to compete in camp with another team, only to be cut again.
Lowry’s history of performance over the course of his career isn’t necessarily strong, and the issues that plagued his 2022 may still be present. The Vikings offered him a fair amount of guaranteed money, so he wouldn’t be easy to cut, but if it means finding extra room on the roster for developing players like Esezi Otomewo and Jaquelin Roy, along with players like Jonathan Bullard, it may be worth it.
RB Kene Nwangwu
After cutting Dalvin Cook, it seems pretty obvious that the Vikings are going to work with multiple backs in order to replace his production, which would mean relying on a committee involving Alexander Mattison and the other backs on the roster.
But that doesn’t mean the other backs are guaranteed a roster spot, and Nwangwu has been slow to pick up the nuances of the position. The Vikings could sign another running back pretty easily without having to make cuts — they have two roster spots right now — and the available running backs in free agency right now are more talented than Nwangwu, including Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette, and Ezekiel Elliott.
The Vikings would need a solution at kick returner before attempting this, however. They have a few candidates on the roster, like Brandon Powell, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor, Jalen Nailor, and NaJee Thompson. Though Nwangwu is a high-level returner, that may not matter this year — especially with the new kickoff rules.
CB Andrew Booth Jr.
The Vikings have made a number of investments at cornerback over the past few years, including a pair of rookies in 2022’s draft and another in this year’s event. They also drafted a safety with nickel corner experience later on in the same draft. On top of that, they signed a premier cornerback in free agency and another veteran with him.
Not all of those players are going to be able to contribute. While it would be a surprise for the Vikings to let go of a relatively high draft pick in just his second year, the fact of the matter is he seems to be behind a fourth-round draft pick from the same class and could be behind a third-round rookie.
If Booth emerges from training camp as the fifth cornerback on the roster, it might be better to let a player like John Reid or NaJee Thompson, core special teamers who could play multiple roles, take his spot.