The Minnesota Vikings trimmed their roster down to 53 players on Saturday and the list of cuts included a number of notable names. Thanks to some early moves on Friday, the Minnesota Vikings made trimming down their roster to 53 players a little easier on Saturday. However, the Vikings still had to part ways with a number of talented guys this year. For the players cut on Saturday, Minnesota will hope to sign some of them to their 10-man practice squad this season. But a number of guys let go by the Vikings also have the talent to sign on with another NFL team this year. Saturday’s roster moves even came with a big surprise from Minnesota. Tough decisions are part of the business of today’s league, but it doesn’t make it any easier for fans when they see the Vikings letting go of some of their favorite players. Depending on who else gets released around the NFL, Minnesota could still possibly cut more guys before their first game of the regular season next Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. But who were the 23 players the Vikings officially decided to part ways with on Saturday?<doc-sep>article The Vikings cut 20 more players Saturday to get the regular season roster down to the maximum of 53. In addition to the cuts, the team announced Center Pat Elflein was activated from physically unable to perform (PUP) list Saturday as well. Some other highlights include keeping three quarterbacks in Kirk Cousins, Trevor Siemien and Kyle Sloter. One surprise on the 53-man roster was the coaching staff’s decision to keep five running backs. Roc Thomas and Mike Boone battled throughout training camp to make this year’s team, but both ended up making the final roster. Interestingly, the Vikings only kept five wide receivers on the roster, too. The most notable name heading out the door is seven-year veteran Kendall Wright. Earlier Saturday, the team announced it was cutting ties with veteran lineman Brian Robison and announced that Terence Newman would retire from playing to become a coach. Here is the whole list of roster moves announced Saturday: RELEASED: PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE Josh Andrews (Injured)........................ G........................ 3......................................... Oregon State Jeff Badet............................................ WR....................... R.............................................. Oklahoma Chad Beebe....................................... WR....................... R.................................... Northern Illinois Blake Bell.............................................. TE........................ 4.............................................. Oklahoma Mack Brown (Injured)......................... RB........................ 3.................................................... Florida Reshard Cliett...................................... LB........................ 2........................................ South Florida Curtis Cothran..................................... DT....................... R............................................ Penn State Garret Dooley....................................... LB....................... R............................................. Wisconsin Cornelius Edison.................................. C........................ 3....................................... Portland State Colby Gossett......................................... G....................... R............................... Appalachian State Tyler Hoppes........................................ TE....................... R............................................... Nebraska Craig James (Injured)......................... CB....................... R................................... Southern Illinois Tavarres King (Injured)..................... WR........................ 5.................................................. Georgia Tray Matthews (Injured)........................ S....................... R................................................... Auburn Storm Norton........................................... T........................ 1.................................................... Toledo Ifeadi Odenigbo.................................. DE........................ 1........................................ Northwestern Horace Richardson (Injured)............ CB........................ 1....................................................... SMU Jack Tocho.............................................. S........................ 1............................ North Carolina State Kendall Wright................................... WR........................ 7..................................................... Baylor Jonathan Wynn.................................. DE....................... R.............................................. Vanderbilt PLACED ON RESERVE/RETIRED: PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE Terence Newman............................... CB...................... 16........................................ Kansas State PLACED ON RESERVE/SUSPENDED: PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE Kentrell Brothers.................................. LB........................ 3................................................. Missouri ACTIVATED FROM PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM: PLAYER POS. EXP. COLLEGE Advertisement Pat Elflein............................................... C........................ 2............................................. Ohio State<doc-sep>We are a little more than 24 hours away from the deadline for the Minnesota Vikings (and 31 teams that don’t matter quite as much) need to trim their rosters from 90 players down to 53 before the start of the regular season. The deadline is 3:00 PM Central on Saturday, 1 September. With one of the most talented rosters in the National Football League, it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how everything shakes out for the purple. We will be keeping track of all of the roster cuts right here for you so that we can see the development of the roster. Keep in mind, the Vikings have a couple of players that will be suspended for the first four games of the season and won’t count against the 53-man roster, but otherwise there are a lot of players that are going to be pretty anxious over the next few days. Here is the full 90-man roster as it stands right now. As players get cut, we’ll be crossing them off the list. We’ll also be doing quick stories on the players that get cut as well for your reading pleasure. Offense (46) Quarterbacks (4) Kirk Cousins, Peter Pujals , Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter Fullbacks (2) Kobe McCrary , Luke McNitt Running Backs (5) Mike Boone, Mack Brown , Dalvin Cook, C.J. Ham, Latavius Murray, Roc Thomas Wide Receivers (12) Jeff Badet , Chad Beebe , Stacy Coley, Stefon Diggs, Cayleb Jones , Tavarres King , Korey Robertson , Adam Thielen, Laquon Treadwell, Jake Wieneke , Kendall Wright , Brandon Zylstra Tight Ends (5) Blake Bell , Tyler Conklin, Tyler Hoppes , David Morgan, Kyle Rudolph Center (4) Cornelius Edison , Pat Elflein, Brett Jones, J.P. Quinn Guards (6) Josh Andrews , Kareem Are , Tom Compton, Colby Gossett , Danny Isidora, Kaleb Johnson Offensive Tackles (7) Aviante Collins, Dieugot Joseph , Rashod Hill, Storm Norton , Brian O’Neill, Riley Reiff, Mike Remmers Defense (41) Defensive Ends (7) Tashawn Bower, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Ifeadi Odenigbo , Brian Robison , Stephen Weatherly, Jonathan Wynn Defensive Tackles (6) Curtis Cothran , Jalyn Holmes, Jaleel Johnson, Linval Joseph, David Parry, Sheldon Richardson Linebackers (11) Anthony Barr, Kentrell Brothers, Reshard Cliett , Garret Dooley , Devante Downs, Ben Gedeon, Eric Kendricks, Mike Needham , Brett Taylor , Eric Wilson, Antwione Williams Cornerbacks (11) Mackensie Alexander, Holton Hill, Mike Hughes, Craig James , Trevon Mathis , Terence Newman , Horace Richardson , Xavier Rhodes, Marcus Sherels, Jack Tocho , Trae Waynes Safeties (6) Anthony Harris, George Iloka, Jayron Kearse, Tray Matthews , Andrew Sendejo, Harrison Smith Specialists (3) Kicker (1) Daniel Carlson Punter (1) Ryan Quigley Long Snapper (1) Kevin McDermott<doc-sep>Well, it’s approaching one of the biggest days in the NFL offseason. Cutdown day. The day a huge number of players are told to see “The Turk.” But, like most teams, the Vikings got a bit of their cutdown work done yesterday, so here’s the full list of players that will be looking for work with the rest of today’s cuts: #Vikings cuts so far G Kareem Are G Kaleb Johnson WR Cayleb Jones T Dieugot Joseph CB Trevon Mathis RB Kobe McCrary FB Luke McNitt LB Mike Needham QB Peter Pujals C J.P. Quinn WR Korey Robertson LB Brett Taylor WR Jake Wieneke LB Antwione Williams — Purple Post (@Purple_Post) August 31, 2018 With fourteen players gone, that leaves 23 cuts to come. Here’s the updated look at the MN roster: QB: Cousins, Siemian, Sloter RB: Cook, Murray, Boone, Ham, Brown, Thomas WR: Diggs, Thielen, Treadwell, Wright, Coley, Zylstra, Badet, Beebe TE: Rudolph, Morgan, Bell, Conklin, Hoppes OL: Reiff, Collins, Compton, Andrews, Jones, Edison, Elflein, Remmers, Isidora, Gossett, Hill, O’Neill, Norton DL: Hunter, Robison, Wynn, Joseph, Johnson, Parry, Cothran, Richardson, Odenigbo, Holmes, Griffen, Weatherly, Bower LB: Barr, Dooley, Kendricks, Brothers, Downs, Gedeon, Wilson, Cliett CB: Waynes, Newman, Hughes, Richardson, Rhodes, Alexander, Sherels, Hill, James S: Smith, Sendejo, Iloka, Harris, Kearse, Tocho, Matthews ST: Quigley, Carlson, McDermott Here are what I’m considering to be my “easy cuts” tomorrow: Mack Brown, Roc Thomas (possible IR), Stacy Coley (possible IR), Jeff Badet, Chad Beebe, Blake Bell, Tyler Hoppes, Colby Gossett, Storm Norton, Jonathan Wynn, David Parry, Curtis Cothran, Garret Dooley, Devante Downs, Horace Richardson, Craig James, Jack Tocho, Tray Matthews With those eighteen cuts, that leaves five tough choices to make: Four or five linebackers: If the Vikings keep just four linebackers, add Cliett to the cut list. If Cliett is kept on to play special teams, I’d imagine it’d be close to the end for Jayron Kearse (especially if those cryptic tweets from his Twitter feed are anything to go by). (especially if those cryptic tweets from his Twitter feed are anything to go by). Five or six wide receivers: I truly believe there’s a good chance the Vikings only keep five wide receivers this season. If they do, I’d imagine, especially from what has come out from training camp and preseason, that the five wide receivers would be Diggs, Thielen, Treadwell, Wright, and Zylstra. If that number jumps to six, add Chad Beebe ’s name into the mix because he’s the only other wide receiver still on the roster that managed to impress in any way, shape or form. The WR count could also come down to what happens with Stacy Coley and whether he’s slid onto IR as a way to stash him for the year. ’s name into the mix because he’s the only other wide receiver still on the roster that managed to impress in any way, shape or form. The WR count could also come down to what happens with and whether he’s slid onto IR as a way to stash him for the year. Nine, ten or eleven offensive linemen: I truly have no idea how many offensive linemen the Vikings will keep. Of the 13 I have listed, I only put Colby Gossett and Storm Norton into the “fairly certain they’ll be cut” pile (though I think Gossett will land on the practice squad). That would leave eleven offensive linemen, and that’s a near-guarantee to be cut. I would imagine Josh Andrews is the next cut from the remaining eleven, leaving ten. That being said, Pat Elflein could start the season on the PUP list. A lot of what the Vikings decide to do will depend on who they have starting at center to begin the season (probably not Elf even if he doesn’t stay on the PUP list) and who is starting at guard. Keep an eye on these cuts and who might be added to the group if/when the Vikings make a trade. and into the “fairly certain they’ll be cut” pile (though I think Gossett will land on the practice squad). That would leave eleven offensive linemen, and that’s a near-guarantee to be cut. I would imagine is the next cut from the remaining eleven, leaving ten. That being said, could start the season on the PUP list. A lot of what the Vikings decide to do will depend on who they have starting at center to begin the season (probably not Elf even if he doesn’t stay on the PUP list) and who is starting at guard. Keep an eye on these cuts and who might be added to the group if/when the Vikings make a trade. Eight, nine or ten defensive linemen: This will be the real position to watch tomorrow. Whoever ends up cut from this group, more than any other position on our team, could very well find themselves on a different team’s 53-man roster within the next few days. The top four starters are locked in, and because he’s here for one last ride, I think B-Rob hangs around. If we’re talking eight DL, that leaves three sports, which absolutely would be filled by Jaleel Johnson , Jalyn Holmes , and Tashawn Bower. The most likely number of players the Vikings will keep (in my mind) on the defensive line is nine, which means the final roster spot could very well come down to Stephen Weatherly and Ifeadi Odenigbo. Odenigbo has the versatility that Weatherly doesn’t, but Weatherly forced this to become a tough competition when he balled out in the preseason. While I do like Odenigbo, I think he could be the odd man out, though I’m sure the Vikings would love to add him to their practice squad if at all possible. So there’s your roster update everyone! As I said, there are 23 more cuts to come tomorrow, so keep a close eye on the front page of the Daily Norseman, because the cuts will be flying left and right!<doc-sep>
The Minnesota Vikings are busy chipping away at their 90-man roster and getting it down to 53 players before the Saturday deadline and kicked things off by announcing 14 moves right off the bat on Friday evening, less than a day before they had to. Keep it locked here as the names are added and 37 players find their time with the team end, at least for now and the near future. WR Kendall Wright WR Chad Beebe (rookie) WR Cayleb Jones WR Korey Robertson (rookie) WR Jake Wieneke (rookie) WR Tavarres King (injury designation) WR Jeff Badet (rookie) TE Blake Bell TE Tyler Hoppes (rookie) RB Mack Brown (injury designation) FB Kobe McCrary (rookie) FB Luke McNitt (rookie) QB Peter Pujals (rookie) G Josh Andrews (injury designation) G Colby Gossett (rookie) G Kaleb Johnson (rookie) G Kareem Are (rookie) T Storm Norton T Dieugot Joseph (rookie) C Cornelius Edison C J.P. Quinn (rookie) DE Brian Robison DE Jonathan Wynn (rookie) DL Ifeadi Odenigbo DT Curtis Cothran (rookie) LB Garret Dooley (rookie) LB Reshard Cliett LB Antwione Williams LB Mike Needham (rookie) LB Brett Taylor (rookie) CB Horace Richardson CB Trevon Mathis (rookie) S Tray Matthews (rookie, injury designation) CB Craig James (rookie, injury designation) S Jack Tocho CB Terence Newman (retired) The Vikings have had one of the busiest offseasons in the NFL and it began before most did. Staring down a quarterback decision following a season that saw a breakout in Case Keenum and two other starting-caliber players in Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater, they elected to let each man walk out of the Twin Cities without a contract and make a run at Kirk Cousins. Cousins would sign a deal for a fully-guaranteed $84 million over three seasons, which at the time made him the highest-paid player in the NFL and gives them stability at the quarterback position for the first time in a long time. The quarterback storyline did not end there as the team also traded for a former starter in Trevor Siemian to be the backup to Cousins and battle it out with Kyle Sloter for depth chart positioning. Minnesota would make a big splash on the other side of the ball with much-needed upgrade on the league's No. 1 defense in the signing of defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. The former Pro Bowler agreed to a one-year deal to play next to Linval Joseph up front in hopes to compete for a Super Bowl and then cash in during free agency next offseason. With most of their needs filled heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, the Vikings were able to go into that event with an open mind and took a chance on prospects with upside. They drafted some secondary help in the form of Mike Hughes out of UCF to give them a talented piece at cornerback and followed it up in the second round with offensive tackle Brian O'Neill out of Pittsburgh. The Vikings had until 3 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon to make their final roster cuts from 90 players all the way down to 53. The team is coming off of a 3-1 preseason and busy spring and summer as they build the team for the 2018 campaign, which kicks off on Sept. 9 when the team welcomes the San Francisco 49ers to U.S. Bank Stadium in the home opener to start the season.