The Minnesota Vikings have their first practice on Wednesday afternoon and the discussion about the final roster spots will be a fascinating one.
There are a lot of players competing for only a few roster spots on the back end of the roster. Those will be some difficult decisions for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office to construct the 53-man roster.
As we try to project forward, we took a look at the 10 hardest cuts for the Viking.
1. WR Jalen Reagor
His performance in 2022 doesn’t warrant a roster spot this season, but a fully guaranteed $2.42 million salary for 2023 will make the decision difficult to cut him.
2. C Austin Schlottmann
Schlottmann broke his ankle in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers and it’s a difficult injury to come back from. With Chris Reed and Alan Ali gunning for him, Schlottmann becomes expendable.
3. DT James Lynch
Going into his fourth season, Lynch could easily lose his roster spot due to the young depth on the team.
4. DE Jonathan Bullard
Like Lynch, Bullard loses out to the talented young depth like Esezi Otomewo.
5. LB Troy Dye
The special teams maven doesn’t have enough potential to play every down on defense and it costs him a roster spot.
6. OLB D.J. Wonnum
A potential surprise on the list, Wonnum hasn’t been consistent enough on defense to be guaranteed a roster spot in 2023.
7. OLB Luiji Vilain
The only UDFA to make the roster in 2022, Vilain is up against some tough competition to make the roster in 2023.
8. CB Tay Gowan
Gowan has talent at cornerback, but it is in a tough group with a lot of capital invested ahead of him.
9. WR Trishton Jackson
After a really good camp last season, Jackson barely missed the team. He is likely going to be in the same position this season with a lot of competition.
10. K Jack Podlesny
With a really good training camp, Podlesny is going to make the decision very difficult for Adofo-Mensah.
