Vikings: 5 players who won’t be on the roster by Week 1

As the Minnesota Vikings move through the bulk of the offseason, these five players won’t make it to Week 1 on the roster.

If the Minnesota Vikings continue their trend under head coach Mike Zimmer, 2021 will be a playoff year. They’ll have to make it through the NFL’s fifth-toughest schedule by 2020’s win totals, but there’s enough talent in place to do it if the defense gets some key pieces back healthy.

As the Vikings integrate their new players, via free agency and the draft, those players will replace  guys who have been on the roster. Going from 90 to 53 players won’t be too hard for the first 25-30 players they’ll cut. From there there’ll be attempts to sneak guys through waivers back on to the practice squad, with the final few cuts to get down to the 53-man active roster.

With last week’s trade of former first-round pick cornerback Mike Hughes, the Vikings got something for a player they probably would have cut at some point. It also helped avoid a tough decision that may have come close to Week 1, and allows Hughes to get a fresh start earlier.

Between now and Week 1, these five players won’t be on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster.

5 players who won’t be on the Vikings roster by Week 1

5. Kris Boyd, cornerback

Boyd played in 10 games and started five for the Vikings last season, as injuries thinned the cornerback ranks and he was in-and-out of the lineup himself. He wound up playing 32 percent of the defensive snaps, with 34 total tackles, zero interceptions and two pass breakups. He also allowed a 121.4 passer rating in his coverage in 2020, with six missed tackles (according to Pro Football Reference).

Jeff Gladney’s off the field situation makes him a lingering question mark right now. But the Vikings still go pretty deep at corner (Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, Mackensie Alexander, Harrison Hand, Cameron Bynum), and it’s definitely possibly they sign a veteran.

Boyd hasn’t done anything to warrant a final roster spot if the Vikings have clarity on Gladney and/or sign another veteran cornerback. Without those ‘ifs’, he’d be higher on this list.