The Trimming Begins

Yesterday’s quarterback moves by the Minnesota Vikings got all of the headlines. Roster moves involving a quarterback always gets the headlines. The Vikings did more than sign Carson Wentz and trade Sam Howell. They also started the difficult task of trimming the roster from 90 players to 53 players. There once was a time when the NFL did the roster trimming in stages. Now, there’s a single cutdown date. All rosters have to be at 53 players by Tuesday at 1pm PT. Most teams do the trimming in waves over a few days. The Vikings started yesterday. 

Contract terminated:

Brett Rypien, QB

Cam Gill, OLB

Waived:

Reddy Steward, CB

Keenan Garber, CB

Tre Stewart, RB

Mishael Powell, S

Logan Brown, OT

Zack Bailey, OL

Silas Bolden, WR

Robert Lewis, WR

Travis Bell, DL

While the transactions are termed differently, the result is the same. The players are no longer on the roster. If there’s a surprise in the 11 released players, that player is Logan Brown. Many evaluators had Brown as the top player not selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was a priority undrafted target for many teams and he selected the Vikings. His potential had me thinking that he could be the 10th offensive lineman on the roster. Things didn’t work out as he’s now among the first wave of departures. Silas Bolden is a bit of a surprise as many that cover the Vikings had him making the roster as the punt returner. 

The Vikings roster is now at 79 players. There will be a lot of roster activity between now and tomorrow at 1pm PT.