3 Vikings who won’t be on the roster by September 1

Fullback C.J. Ham may not be a fit in Kevin O’Connell’s new offensive scheme

This is the one to really monitor when it comes to the Vikings offense. Will they keep veteran fullback C.J. Ham around after making a head-coaching change this offseason? Ham was a Pro Bowler in 2019 and is a local product having played his high school ball in Duluth. However, fullback is not a position utilized in a Sean McVay offense, and Kevin O’Connell is a McVay disciple.

Of course, being able to throw play-action has played a big part in Kirk Cousins’ growth and development. While he did not work for Mike Shanahan in Washington, Cousins played for him, and that branch of his coaching tree always uses the fullback. Though both Shanahan branches (McVay and Shanahan’s son Kyle) like to run the football a ton, there are slight variations to them.

Ultimately, it really comes down to how different O’Connell’s offense will look than what it had been under Zimmer. If it is a wholesale departure from the schemes Pat Shurmur, Kevin Stefanski and the Kubiaks used to run, then Ham might be gone. Should O’Connell want to make the best of what’s around, he might keep Ham on the roster for the time being. Either way, this will be close.

While changes will be had to the defense, Minnesota hired an offensive head coach for a reason.