Vikings Begin Roster Cuts With Ito Smith, Cohl Cabral, Zeandae Johnson

The Vikings have made an initial wave of cuts ahead of Tuesday afternoon's deadline to get down to 53 players on the roster, waiving running back Ito Smith, center Cohl Cabral, and defensive tackle Zeandae Johnson.

The roster currently stands at 76 players, meaning 23 more cuts will be needed by Tuesday at 3 p.m. central. They can then set a 16-man practice squad. Other factors will come into play this week, including signing players waived by the other 31 teams and potentially placing players on injured reserve.

Waiving Smith might suggest that the Vikings aren't too concerned about the injury suffered by Alexander Mattison in the second preseason game against the Colts. He didn't practice this past week, but there are still two weeks until the team's regular season opener. Smith was initially signed because the Vikings needed another RB with Mattison and Kene Nwangwu injured.

Smith, who played for the Falcons for three years, led the Vikings with 11 touches in Friday night's preseason finale in Kansas City, but only turned them into 35 yards. A.J. Rose Jr. (8 touches, 61 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Ameer Abdullah (8 touches, 33 yards) were more efficient with their opportunities and know the scheme better since they've been around all offseason.

Cabral, who the Vikings claimed off waivers in May, really struggled in the preseason. The reserve center recorded a 27.4 PFF grade on 56 snaps, by far the lowest grade of any Vikings player on offense. Meanwhile, Mason Cole shined in the preseason to easily secure the backup center job and a spot on the 53-man roster.

Johnson was part of the Vikings' undrafted free agent class this year. The former Cal defensive lineman didn't flash at all in preseason action, recording one pressure and one tackle on 58 snaps. An older prospect with minimal college production and poor athletic testing numbers, Johnson was a curious signing as a UDFA in the first place.

The only members of the Vikings' UDFA class still on the 76-man roster are Rose, Whop Philyor, Myron Mitchell, and Tuf Borland. All four seem likely to be cut this week, with the potential exception of Rose. All of the four could be practice squad candidates.

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