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The 2026 Preseason has concluded, and the Vikings finished with a record of 1-2. Now, attention gets pointed to Nolan Teasley, as he performs his first big act as GM: cutting the roster down to 53 players and setting the Practice Squad.
The Vikings roster is considered top-heavy, lacking a lot of good depth, which was highlighted with the tougher performances this August. With the starters all but set, the real battles and surprises will be around the edges of the roster. Below, I’ll breakdown the biggest surprises and give my thoughts on some of the key positions going into the regular season.
Jump Ahead
Vikings Final 53
You can find the full official roster here. Below will be a quick rundown of the official 53:
Offense (25)
QBs (3): Murray, Wentz, McCarthy
RBs (4): Jones, Mason, Claiborne, Bredeson
WRs (5): Jefferson, Addison, Jennings, Felton, Price
TEs (4): Hockenson, Oliver, Yurosek, Bartholomew
OL (10): Darrisaw, Jackson, Brandel, Fries, O’Neill, Van Demark, Tiernan, Huber, Samac, Keegan
Defense (25)
EDGE (4): Turner, Van Ginkel, Richter, Chambliss
IDL (6): Ingram-Dawkins, Redmond, Drake Rodriguez, Banks, Orange, Williams
LBs (4): Cashman, Wilson, Golday, Pace Jr.
CBs (5): Murphy Jr., Rodgers, Demmings, Pierre, Vaughn
S (5): Metellus, Ward, Johnson, Jakobe Thomas, Jacob Thomas
Special Teams (3)
K (1): Reichard
P (1): Thorson
LS (1): DePaula
Surprise Cuts
With the roster being rather top-heavy, there were not a lot of cuts that I was surprised by. The biggest surprise cut was Johnny Hekker, after he was beat out by Brett Thorson. Hekker was brought in as a free agent back in March, and I had him penciled in as the starting punter.
After a Summer of competitions, Thorson wins the punting job after a solid preseason. He played in all three games, and posted:
- 5 punts
- 47.8 average yards
- 58 yard longest punt
- 4 inside the 20
It all came down to holding, where Thorson and Hekker were rotating on field goal holds, which ultimately was also a close battle. Clearly, Will Reichard is comfortable and confident in Thorson holding it down all year, which may be under the microscope early in the season, especially if there are any uncharastic results.
The other surprise cut was Zavier Scott. It may have been a stretch for the Vikings to carry four running backs and one full back, five in total, and Scott had proven to be a solid RB3 when called upon last season. Demond Claiborne takes the reign as RB3, and I’ll get more into that below.
There will be 17 players joining the practice squad over the next few days, and I wouldn’t be shocked if nearly all of the 17 were from today’s cut list. It’ll be interesting to see who they may claim during the waiver period, too.
Position Breakdown
The 2026 Minnesota Vikings have a few fun position rooms, with more players in a few rooms than I would have expected. I’ll breakdown a few of my favorites below:
Running Back
Many fans and critics were certain that the Vikings would carry three running backs going into the regular season, with Max Bredeson locked in as the Fullback. However, there was a majority that thought Zavier Scott would be that third running back.
Go back to Monday, the Zavier Scott is still in the NFC North, a part of a practice squad, but now with a division foe in the Chicago Bears, whom the Vikings play in week two.
Demond Claiborne is the third running back on the depth chart, and he had a rollercoaster of a training camp and preseason, although I would say there were more highs than lows. Claiborne posses a skill the rest of the room doesn’t have: elite top end speed.
This was shown throughout camp and joint practices, where he would break an explosive run, a run over 10 yards, and score a touchdown:
He didn’t have the flashiest stats in the preseason games, finishing the trial season with:
- 28 carries
- 73 rushing yards
- 1 reception
- 7 receiving yards
There are multiple factors to consider here, too. Claiborne mostly played with the second, third, and fourth team offenses, and the offense didn’t look all that great this preseason anyways.
Claiborne should mix in early as a change of pace back, but he may only get a carry or two a game in the first half of the season. What he does with the limited touches can unlock his ability to generate more usage in the home stretch, especially barring any injuries in the room. Claiborne’s biggest knock right now is his ball security, where he struggled in college, too. If he can keep the ball protected, while showcasing his gamebreaking speed, he can play a critical role in the new and improved Vikings run game.
Aaron Jones returns as the starter, however, Jordan Mason had a great camp and preseason, and the coaching staff and beat reporters have said nothing but overwhelming positive reviews of his game. Jones will get the first couple of touches each game, but it’s not about who starts, it’s about who is effective. Expect Mason to be nearly split in touches with Jones throughout the 2026 campaign.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Mason ends the year leading the Vikings in rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns, either. Jones is stronger in pass protection and in the receiving game, and with the new element that Kyler Murray’s legs bring, there will be a lot of fun, exciting looks and run game schemes this season.
The Vikings will be a true running back by committee this year, of course barring any injuries, and with Frank Smith scheming up the run game in collaboration with Kevin O’Connell’s wide zone scheme, there will be plenty of opportunity for this offense to lean heavy on the run game.
One of KOC’s most important elements in his offenses scheme is play action, and this room needs to produce to allow the likes of Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Justin Jefferson to return to previous form as the elite receiving weapons we all knew and loved. Keep your eye out for the different ways the Vikings use Jones, Mason, and Claiborne early on this season, and how it gets blended into similar looks and plays throughout the season.
Defensive Line
This year’s Vikings are carrying six interior defensive lineman. The room is filled with young talent, with almost every player from the last three drafts. Jalen Redmond is the leader of the pack, and he has the opportunity to lead this young, talented room all the way to a lucrative contract extension this year.
The rest of the room is raw, and will see a rotation throughout the season. The projected starters going into week one against Green Bay are: Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. However, I expect a rotation, with Dominque Orange, Caleb Banks, and Elijah Williams all spelling and rotating for certain downs and distances.
The early concerns around Caleb Banks may be a bit overreactive at this time. He had ups and downs this training camp and preseason, and you can see the strengths that he displayed during his time at the University of Florida. However, he is still a raw prospect, and hasn’t played a lot of ball in recent years due to his foot injuries.
I expect Banks to continue to learn and gel within the scheme, while being featured on more passing downs early in the season. Right now, he needs to learn to play with better leverage, and that will come with more experience and better conditioning.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Dominque Orange starting at nose tackle before the end of the season. Coming off a strong camp, and showing great instincts and gap responsibility on tape, he will rotate early in the season as a run-down player, and may eventually earn the start if his success continues.
This room is deep, but doesn’t have a lot of star power, at least not right now. There is a lot of room for growth in the room, especially with the investment in Banks. It will be a room that will have a lot of attention on it, especially if Flores wants his defense to strengthen in the run game.
Safety
The final room of this breakdown goes to the room who had the biggest standout this Summer: Jacob Thomas.
Thomas has stood out since the moment camp started in late July, and had strong performances in each preseason game up until his injury in the final game against the Broncos. He flashed all over the field, making big hits and picking off the ball:
A rising star on the backend of the defense, Thomas may have earned the right to play early for this version of the Vikings defense. He started rotating with the starters to end camp, and with Flores three Safety looks, Thomas may get an early opportunity to continue his upward trajectory.
The rest of the Safety room has had up and down performances, and will be heavily criticized, especially without a certain Hall of Fame talent no longer patrolling the backend. The other rookie J. (Jakobe) Thomas, one of the Vikings third round picks this year, has battled injuries, and even during the final preseason game appeared to be getting up to game speed. He brings a physicality and big play hunting ability, which may put him in some difficult places at time. It’ll be interesting to see when, and if, he cracks the rotation this season.
He has some important lessons to learn, especially around the aggressiveness and learning to make the play, not just the big play. With additional coaching and development, the Vikings may view him as a longer term player rather than an immediate contributor.
The starters will be Josh Metellus and Jay Ward, but with Brian Flores consistently playing three safety sets, don’t be shocked to see Theo Jackson and Jacob Thomas getting more snaps and playing time during games.
Metellus needs a bounce back season. In 2025, he only registered a total of 86 tackles and 2 INTs, a regression from 2024, where he posted over 100 total tackles. He was battling injuries early in 2025’s campaign, especially his shoulder, where he wore a brace nearly all season. Reports have mentioned that he is healthy and good to go, and the Vikings will need it with him being the star of the room now.
Everyone is eagerly awaiting for an announcement around Harrison Smith. The Vikings are carrying five safeties already, and if Smith decides to return, one is more than likely to be cut and brought back to the practice squad. I imagine this would come down to letting go one of the Thomas’ and hoping they can make it to the practice squad. If not, I can see the Vikings carrying six safeties and cutting from a different room.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 Vikings roster is shallow, but has strong, top end talent in many key positions. This year’s group will rely on key contributions from younger talent and development. With many young guys keen to take on a bigger role, there may be some speed bumps early on.
How far this group can go will come down to the continued development, especially on the defense, and a good run of injury luck. It’s hard to predict the latter, but if the trends of development from late last season point forward, then this roster could be strong, especially going into the late portion of the season.
I’ll closely be monitoring many of the young guys with a chance to prove their worth, as well as the continuity of the offensive line. We saw this unit play many times in 2025, will a new scheme and coach really improve the room? The excitement from camp points to this being a “yes”, and it will be key to the Vikings offensive success.
Nonetheless, the fun is about to begin. Week 1, at home against the Packers is just days away, and it’s time to see if this group has what it takes to top a division foe. See you for the first week breakdown soon.
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