Minnesota Vikings 53-man Roster

While injuries have ripped through the league, the Minnesota Vikings have managed to dodge those of the long-term variety. Running back Dalvin Cook has missed about 2.5 of the last three games with an ankle injury. Hopefully, he’s on the mend. Defensive tackle Michael Pierce is dealing with an elbow injury. Hopefully, he’s on the mend. With relative good health, the Vikings roster hasn’t changed much since the start of the season. For the first few games, quarterback Sean Mannion and running back Ameer Abdullah did the weekly boomerang between the active roster and practice squad. Both are now firmly on the active roster. The Vikings roster hasn’t needed anything more than the usual practice squad tweaks. Hopefully, that continues.

Early last week, ornerbacks Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Hand were placed on the COVID list. It came at an especially unfortunate time for Dantzler. In Week 4, he probably played his way back into the starting lineup. Next day, he tested positive for COVID. One step forward. Two steps back. It feels like it’s been that way for Dantzler since his rookie season. Starting or not, the Vikings need both cornerbacks. Fortunately, Dantzler was activated yesterday. His quest to start opposite Patrick Peterson begins again. 

Veteran tight end Luke Stocker was signed to the practice squad this week. He was a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was a solid player for the Buccaneers from 2011-17. He was with the Tennessee Titans from 2017-18 and Atlanta Falcons from 2019-20. He was on the Titans practice squad earlier this season. At 33, Stocker is now the most senior offensive player on the Vikings roster. 

I hope that rookie running back Kene Nwangwu is ready for game action soon. With his blazing speed, he was one of the new players I was most interested in seeing in the preseason. Before he had a chance to show that speed, he was taken off the field. Nwangwu suffered a knee injury early in the first preseason game. Fortunately, it was an injury that needed rest and rehab over surgery. His stay on injured reserve was expected to be brief and was designated for return. He’s nearing that return. A peppering of Nwangwu could spice up the Vikings offense. 

The Vikings ran with a 23:27 offense:defense split to start the season. That disparity was a surprise. It’s crept closer to even with the current 24:26. That should probably be expected for a Mike Zimmer-led team. Perhaps the eventual activation of Nwangwu will bring offense:defense balance. 

Minnesota Vikings Roster

Offense (24 Players)

Quarterbacks (3)

  8 Kirk Cousins

14 Sean Mannion

11 Kellen Mond

Running Backs (3)

33 Dalvin Cook
25 Alexander Mattison

31 Ameer Abdullah

Fullbacks (1)

30 C.J. Ham

Receivers (6)
19 Adam Thielen
18 Justin Jefferson

17 K.J. Osborn

12 DeDe Westbrook

15 Ihmir Smith-Marsette 

85 Dan Chisena

Tight Ends (3)
83 Tyler Conklin

89 Chris Herndon

82 Ben Ellefson

Offensive Tackles (3)
75 Brian O'Neill

71 Christian Darrisaw
69 Rashod Hill

64 Blake Brandel

Guards (3)

72 Ezra Cleveland

74 Oli Udoh

51 Wyatt Davis

Centers (2)

56 Garrett Bradbury

52 Mason Cole

Defense (26 Players)

Defensive Ends (5)
99 Danielle Hunter

98 D.J. Wonnum

97 Everson Griffen

91 Stephen Weatherly

93 Patrick Jones II

Defensive Tackles (5)

94 Dalvin Tomlinson

58 Michael Pierce

90 Sheldon Richardson

96 Armon Watts
92 James Lynch

Linebackers (7)
55 Anthony Barr

54 Eric Kendricks
59 Nick Vigil

45 Troy Dye

48 Blake Lynch

41 Chazz Surratt

57 Ryan Connelly

Cornerbacks (5)

  7 Patrick Peterson

24 Mackensie Alexander

21 Bashaud Breeland

27 Cameron Dantzler

29 Kris Boyd

Safeties (4)

22 Harrison Smith
23 Xavier Woods

43 Camryn Bynum

44 Josh Metellus

Special Teams (3 Players)

Kicker

  1 Greg Joseph

Punter
 3 Jordan Berry

Long Snapper
42 Andrew DePaola

***

Practice Squad

34 Jake Bargas, FB

47 Tuf Borland, LB

64 Blake Brandel, OT

40 Zach Davidson, TE

86 Brandon Dillon, TE

46 Myles Dorn, S

78 Dakota Dozier, OG

68 Kyle Hinton, OG

  9 Trishton Jackson, WR

87 Myron Mitchell, WR

39 Parry Nickerson, CB

36 A.J Rose Jr., RB

50 T.J. Smith, DT

  5 Tye Smith, CB

35 Luke Stocker, TE

79 Kenny Willekes, DE

Reserve/Injured: Designated for Return

26 Kene Nwangwu

Reserve/Injured

12 Chad Beebe

81 Olabisi Johnson

95 Janarius Robinson

13 Blake Proehl

84 Irv Smith Jr.

66 Jordon Scott

14 Nate Stanley

Reserve/Non-Football Injury

76 Jaylen Twyman

Reserve/COVID

20 Harrison Hand