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Vikings 2021 Roster Cuts Tracker: Live Updates as Minnesota Gets Down to 53 Players

The cuts have begun. Here's who the Vikings are letting go as they set their initial roster.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings 2021 Roster Cuts Tracker: Live Updates as Minnesota Gets Down to 53 Players
Vikings 2021 Roster Cuts Tracker: Live Updates as Minnesota Gets Down to 53 Players

It's time: the Vikings have begun making cuts as they whittle their way down to setting an initial 53-man roster by this afternoon's deadline. 

Here, you'll find all of the latest reports on who has been released and which bubble players made the cut. This story will be updated throughout the afternoon.

As a reminder, there are tons of moving pieces during this process, so nothing should be considered final. Players who are cut could be brought back to the 16-man practice squad. Players who make the team could be placed on injured reserve or waived to make room for someone cut by any of the 31 other teams.

Bubble players who made the 53

We'll have a story up with the entire 53-man roster when it is released, but for now, here are the reports of individual bubble players whose have made the initial roster.

DE Jalyn Holmes

DE Stephen Weatherly

DT James Lynch

Unless they cut third-round pick Patrick Jones II, which seems highly unlikely, the Vikings are keeping 11 defensive linemen on their initial roster. That's a ton. Holmes is the particularly surprising one here, as the 2018 fourth-rounder hasn't done much through his first three NFL seasons. He does have experience and the versatility to rush from the edge or the interior.

Weatherly lost his battle for a starting DE spot to D.J. Wonnum, and his playing time was further threatened when Everson Griffen was signed. Lynch had a good training camp but is still probably the No. 5 defensive tackle behind Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, Sheldon Richardson, and Armon Watts.

It's worth noting once again that these rosters are far from final. There will be lots of shuffling as teams make waiver claims and other roster moves. I would be surprised if the Vikings still had 11 DL on the roster when Week 1 rolls around.

WR Dan Chisena

Chisena is now 2 for 2 on making the Vkings' initial 53-man roster. That's a pretty wild accomplishment for the 2020 UDFA who caught all of three passes at Penn State. You can't teach speed, and the former collegiate track star is perhaps the fastest player on Minnesota's roster. He played the second-most snaps on special teams of any Viking last year despite being charged with six missed tackles.

Because Chisena didn't play that much football in college, he has plenty of room for improvement. The Vikings clearly feel like he's gotten better as a gunner. Chisena also made some highlight plays as a receiver during training camp, even as drops continued to be an issue. I would be surprised if he had a role on offense in 2021. His focus will be all about special teams and cutting down on those missed tackles.

Trades

TE Chris Herndon

The Vikings have acquired Herndon from the Jets to help them at tight end while Irv Smith Jr. is out for an unknown period of time with a meniscus injury. Full story with everything you need to know about Herndon:

Vikings Trade for Jets TE Chris Herndon to Help During Irv Smith Jr.'s Absence

Injured Reserve

WR Chad Beebe

Beebe's season is officially over due to a foot injury that requires surgery. By placing him on IR now, he is not eligible to return this season. Beebe is the third Vikings receiver to suffer a season-ending injury in the last month, joining Bisi Johnson and Blake Proehl.

Cut/waived players

Here are the players who the Vikings have let go, thus far, with the most recent reports going at the top.

DE Everson Griffen

DE Kenny Willekes

LS Andrew DePaola

S Myles Dorn

RB Ameer Abdullah

RB A.J. Rose Jr.

Despite his preseason heroics, Rose has been waived. The undrafted rookie out of Kentucky was the Vikings' most productive offensive player in August, recording a 100-yard rushing game against the Broncos and then scoring two touchdowns against the Chiefs. His 189 yards from scrimmage ranked sixth in the league during the preseason. It'll be interesting to see if he is claimed by another team or makes it to the practice squad. With the news that Kene Nwangwu is headed to short-term injured reserve, this likely confirms that Ameer Abdullah will make the roster.

QB Nate Stanley (injured)

Stanley spent most of training camp either on the COVID-19 Reserve list or out with an injury, so we barely saw him practice much and he didn't play at all in the preseason.

CB Parry Nickerson

Nickerson is a speedy veteran corner who, like Tye Smith, was never able to elevate himself from the third-team defense. He had a pick-six against the Chiefs in the preseason finale.

S Luther Kirk (injured)

Kirk made some plays throughout training camp but was unable to climb the depth chart and then got injured.

WR Myron Mitchell

Mitchell being cut means the Vikings have just six receivers still on their roster: the clear top five (Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Dede Westbrook) and Dan Chisena. We'll see if Chisena makes it.

TE Shane Zylstra

Zylstra is a former star wide receiver at Minnesota State Mankato who the Vikings converted to TE.

WR Whop Philyor

Another of the Vikings' UDFAs this year, Philyor profiled similarly to LB Tuf Borland, who was also cut. Both were productive in the Big Ten but seem to lack NFL-caliber athleticism.

OT Zack Bailey

Bailey got some reps as the Vikings' backup right tackle, but mostly played with the third team offensive line.

FB Jake Bargas

The Vikings' backup fullback will likely stick around on the practice squad due to the importance of the position in their offense. C.J. Ham has been durable, but you need a backup.

QB Jake Browning

Another big one. Browning was the clear favorite for the Vikings' backup QB job early in training camp, but he had an awful three games during the preseason. If he makes it to the practice squad, he'll be able to be elevated twice unless he is brought back to the active roster. Rookie Kellen Mond is the team's backup QB, for now.

G Dakota Dozier

This is a big one. Dozier started all 16 games for the Vikings at left guard in 2020 despite grading as one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL. He lost a camp battle to Oli Udoh for the right guard job this year, and now has been cut in favor of rookie Wyatt Davis as the backup at that spot.

G Dru Samia (injured)

Samia apparently has a significant hamstring injury. He could wind up back on the Vikings' IR.

TE Zach Davidson

This is a surprising one. Davidson was a fifth-round pick by the Vikings this year. The big, athletic tight end prospect needs a lot of development, which was made clear during training camp and the preseason. It wouldn't be shocking if another team made a claim.

LB Tuf Borland

Borland was one of the Vikings' UDFA signings this year. He had a storied career at Ohio State, but doesn't seem to have the athleticism to last in the NFL.

G Kyle Hinton

A seventh-round pick in 2019, Hinton has a lot of athleticism but hasn't quite translated that to impressive play on the field. He could be a practice squad guy.

DE Hercules Mata'afa

This is a slightly surprising move, given Mata'afa's strong play in the preseason. Unfortunately for him, the Vikings are very deep on the defensive line. We'll see if Kenny Willekes or James Lynch make it as a 10th DL instead. Mata'afa is an obvious practice squad candidate if he goes unclaimed.

CB Tye Smith

The Vikings are cutting Smith, a veteran they signed in June. He made six starts for the Titans over the past two seasons. Smith had a rough training camp and was towards the bottom of the team's depth chart at corner. He graded well in the preseason against third-stringers, but it wasn't enough.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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