3 Vikings veterans who will be cut before Week 1 and why

The Vikings will have to trim the roster down ahead of Week 1 and these three veterans are on cut watch because of production, upside and reliability.

Vikings training camp is finally underway as the NFL season creeps closer.

Football being back is fun. Teams having to eventually cut their rosters down from 90 to 53 is not so fun.

Still, every team has to do it. And every team will have veterans who are in grave danger of not making the team as their units transform around them, whether because of new signings or the emergence of young talent.

For the Vikings, these are the veterans who could face that reality before Week 1.

No. 3 Vikings veteran in danger of being cut before Week 1: DL James Lynch

The Vikings drafted James Lynch in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft after an outstanding career at Baylor. The defensive lineman is entering the fourth year of his contract and he’s only managed to start three games. He has two career sacks, four tackles for loss and 53 total tackles.

In a Vikings defensive lineman trying to make the roster, a player needs to stand out. But Lynch hasn’t stood out at really any point in his time in Minnesota, so he’s in danger of being pushed out of the room by others with bigger potential. Upside matters when it comes to trimming down depth options and Lynch hasn’t shown enough to make it through.

It doesn’t help that the Vikings could save about $1 million by cutting him.