Over the last few weeks, the Minnesota Vikings have been maneuvering with the back end of the roster. After signing 19 undrafted free agents, they have already let go of multiple players in that class. On Tuesday, they made another move by releasing wide receiver Shaleak Knotts from the University of Maryland.

The #Vikings have waived WR Shaleak Knotts.

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 19, 2026

Knotts entered a fascinating wide receiver room with a lot of questions. Jauan Jennings solved a lot of those when the Vikings signed him on May 7th. With Jennings signed, there are four spots secured on the 53-man roster, with 1-2 open. Now that Knotts has been released, what do the Vikings have planned?

Minnesota Vikings have two open roster spots

Going into the next phase of OTAs and ahead of mandatory minicamp, the Vikings have two roster spots open to them. That creates an interesting element of the offseason. What will the Vikings choose to do with those roster spots?

There are plenty of veterans the Vikings can choose to add, and they could be a huge aspect of the 2026 season. Players like edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, edge rusher Leonard Floyd, and safety Ashtyn Davis are still free agents. They could address many holes on the defensive side of the football. Where things get interesting is they have to wait until June 2nd to make another high priced signing.

Now, there could be another angle here. The undrafted free agency class was as weak as it’s ever been due to the weakness overall of the NFL Draft class. Moving on from players in the class and cycling through them can give the Vikings a chance to see more players. Knotts was only guaranteed $25,000 in base salary, which isn’t much at all. It will also be easy to offset if he spends two weeks with another team’s practice squad.

The process the Vikings have been going through could be linked directly to not having a general manager. Even so, it’s intriguing that the Vikings have two roster spots open.