Minnesota Vikings Cuts Tracker: The Path to a 53-Man Roster

It's cutdown day in the NFL. The Vikings and 31 other teams are in the process of trimming their roster down to an initial group of 53 players by the 3 p.m. central time deadline.

This will be a busy day of roster moves, so we'll have all the Vikings updates right here.

Read: Thoughts on the Vikings' 53-man roster and what might be next

Vikings finalize initial 53-man roster

Here's the full roster, as it stands right now.

Some notable players who made it include Jalen Reagor, Nick Muse, NaJee Thompson, Andrew Booth Jr., Jay Ward, Theo Jackson, and Andre Carter II.

These were the final nine players announced as waived or released:

WR Blake Proehl
WR Lucky Jackson
WR Jacob Copeland
CB Jaylin Williams
DL T.J. Smith
OL Jack Snyder
TE Ben Sims
LB Troy Reeder
LB Abraham Beauplan (injured)

Reed to stay on NFI

Vikings OL Chris Reed will stay on the non-football injury (reserve) list to begin the season, per Ben Goessling. He'll miss at least the first four games of the season and won't count towards' the initial 53-man roster.

Latest cuts include RBs

Waived:

OLB Benton Whitley (per Andrew Krammer)
RB DeWayne McBride (per Alec Lewis)
RB Aaron Dykes (per Andrew Krammer)

Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, and Kene Nwangwu are the lone running backs still on the roster. Will the Vikings sign a veteran at that position?

2022 fifth-round pick among cuts

Waived: DL Esezi Otomewo

Per Adam Schefter. The Vikings drafted Otomewo out of Minnesota in the fifth round last year, but he never seemed to climb the depth chart on the defensive line. When the team drafted Jaquelin Roy in the fourth round this year, Otomewo's days seemed to be numbered.

Vikings cut a cornerback

Released: CB Joejuan Williams

Per Tom Pelissero. I wasn't expect Williams to get cut; he felt like a good fit for Brian Flores' defense because of his size.

There are six CBs left on the Vikings' roster: Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon, Andrew Booth Jr., NaJee Thompson, and Jaylin Williams.

Despite reports that Thompson had been waived, he apparently remains on the roster.

Clearing up some miscommunication: The #Vikings have NOT waived CB Najee Thompson. The impressive undrafted rookie from Georgia Southern remains on the roster.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 29, 2023

More Tuesday cuts

Waived:

WR Thayer Thomas (per Aaron Wilson)
OLB Luiji Vilain (per Alec Lewis)
WR Trishton Jackson (more here)
OL Alan Ali (per Alec Lewis)

Vilain is a bit of a surprise. He made the initial 53 last year and had a strong preseason this year. All four players here are practice squad options.

Vikings cut two defensive linemen

Waived: DL Ross Blacklock
Terminated, vested veteran: DL Sheldon Day

More here. Day had a fantastic preseason and is a practice squad candidate if he doesn't get signed elsewhere.

Monday: Vikings announce first wave of 15 cuts

Waived:

DL Calvin Avery
CB Kalon Barnes
CB C.J. Coldon, Jr.
T Christian DiLauro
CB Jameson Houston
LB Wilson Huber
WR Garett Maag
RB Abram Smith
OL Josh Sokol
QB Jordan Ta'amu
TE Colin Thompson
T Jarrid Williams

Terminated, Vested Veteran

LB Jake Gervase
LB Tanner Vallejo

Waived/Injured

CB Tay Gowan

More here. No real surprises among this group, which includes several recently-signed players and a few members of this year's Vikings UDFA class.

Sunday: Vikings trade Vederian Lowe to Patriots

The Vikings traded Lowe, a backup OT, to New England for a sixth-round pick. More here.

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