3 Vikings starters who could be benched with a bad training camp

Vikings starter who could be benched No. 2: Harrison Phillips

Why, oh why, did the Vikings let Dalvin Tomlinson go? Minnesota never really filled the hole Tomlinson left behind, and heading into the upcoming season, the defensive line is going to be a ginormous wild card.

Let’s get this straight: The Vikings need veteran Harrison Phillips. The hefty run-stuffing defensive tackle started every game in 2022 and totaled a career-high 693 snaps; he recorded 62 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks on the year, enjoying a particularly dominant outing against his former team, the Bills, in that electrifying comeback victory.

So if the Vikings are not starting Phillips, that’s a major red flag. That being said, Phillips did miss time due to injuries back in Buffalo and could regress a bit in his sixth year in the league. In the event Phillips picks up a small injury this preseason or his performance drops off a cliff, the Vikings may frantically sign a veteran tackle or perhaps place their trust in 2023 fifth-rounder Jaquelin Roy. Roy was drafted with the expectation that he wouldn’t develop into a starting-caliber lineman for several years, but sometimes, timelines need to be hurried along.

Brian Flores’ new-look defense will also likely feature Dean Lowry, Jonathan Bullard, and Khyiris Tonga, a solid but somewhat position-less group that could play a chaotic game of musical chairs in the trenches.

Again, if Phillips is on the bench to start the season, the Vikings’ defense will probably suffer as a whole. In this far-from-ideal situation, Minnesota would need to triage the defensive line corps and plug the gaps where it can.