Vikings have many surprises on initial 53-man roster that leave many challenges for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had some surprises for us with the 53-man roster.
The Minnesota Vikings released their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had a few surprises for us.
When you look at the 53-man roster, the biggest standout is how the positions break down. There are multiple position that need to be addressed immediately before week one comes around. How things end up manifesting over the course of the season will be interesting . What are the biggest takeaways and surprises? Let’s dive into it.
Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster surprises
Keeping 7 UDFAs
We knew that the Vikings would be keeping multiple UDFAs across the board, but the sheer amount on the roster is wild, as there are seven of them.
It’s worth pointing out that all of these players aren’t likely to stay on the roster, as at least one or two of them are likely going to be placeholders for another veteran, but all of these players did play well enough to be worthy of a roster spot. The special teams ability for Price, Chambliss, and Keys were big in earning them roster spots. Will they keep them? That’s the biggest question, and it will be answered over the course of the next week.
Wide receiver needs attention
This wide receiver group is in rough shape. Addison is officially on the suspended list going into the season, and the Vikings chose to keep just five players at the position, with two of them being special teamers in Jones and Price. There have been extensive trade talks with the Carolina Panthers to acquire Adam Thielen, but it hasn’t come to fruition as of yet.
There will be a multitude of options for the Vikings on the free agent market, and the expectations will be seeing at least one or two of them get signed. Whatever ends up happening, the Vikings’ wide receiver room will look significantly different. If they don’t make a move, they could be in serious trouble with Jones, Felton, and Price likely having to be relied upon in a major way.
Cornerback isn’t strong
Like they did a couple of years ago at wide receiver, the cornerback room only has four players. This will undoubtedly be the focus for the Vikings over the course of the next few months, including during the NFL Draft process. However, it’s a problem they need to find a stop-gap for right now.
This was a similar position to where the Vikings were in last year, but they ended up signing Stephon Gilmore to get them through after the passing of Khyree Jackson in early July of 2024 and Mekhi Blackmon suffering a torn ACL on the first day of training camp. You could argue that the Vikings don’t have a player they can rely on after Byron Murphy Jr. The expectation will be that the Vikings will add at least one or two players at the position, including a potential starter.
Cutting Gabe Murphy
Of all the moves that the Vikings made, this might be the most surprising of all the cuts. Murphy was projected by everybody to make the roster, but they chose to move on. It was surprising, as he proved to be a very good pass rusher, notching 1.5 sacks against the Houston Texans in the preseason opener.
The reason why the Vikings ended up moving on from Gabe Murphy likely came from the lack of special teams crossover. Chaz Chambliss, who got the fifth edge rusher spot, is a special teams maven and will likely play multiple spots for the Vikings. It’s likely that Murphy will end up on the practice squad, but he could very well be kept.
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