Daily Norseman
The Minnesota Vikings have completed most of training camp, joint practices, and two preseason games now and the roster is coming into view. Still some time for players on the bubble to make their case for a roster spot, but not much time left for that either. So, taking into account what we’ve seen so far, here is my updated 53-man roster projection.
The Vikings carried three quarterbacks on their 53-man active roster last season and I expect that to be the case again this season. The emergency third quarterback rule allows teams to suit up a 49th player to be active on game days as the emergency third quarterback. But in order to do so, that quarterback has to be on the 53-man roster.
It’s J.J. McCarthy’s team now, and he’s the X-factor for a team loaded with talent. I made the case back in April that expectations for McCarthy this season should be for stats similar to Sam Darnold last season, and I haven’t seen anything in training camp to cause me to change that view. He may exceed or fall short of those expectations, but that yardstick seems an appropriate one to measure him by this season, all things considered.
Howell didn’t start training camp all that well, but has since improved and appears more comfortable in the system and that, in turn, has helped his poise in the pocket and decisiveness. His spot at QB2 looks safe despite a poor decision under pressure that led to an easy interception. But the next thing is will he show any signs of improvement over previous years? He may not get the chance during the regular season (knock on wood) but whether he’s able to take advantage of good quarterback coaching with the Vikings remains to be seen.
It wasn’t looking good for Brosmer initially after training camp began. He was slow in processing and throwing the ball which led to inaccuracies and picks. But he’s improved steadily since then and seems a lot more confident as he gets used to the system and quarterbacking at the NFL level generally. He’s shown in both preseason games that he can move the ball and operate the offense effectively. He looks to have the QB3 spot pretty well in hand at this point.
Rypien also didn’t start training camp well, but unlike Howell and Brosmer, he hasn’t really shown much improvement. Brosmer looks like the better option to lead the offense in a QB3 role and has some developmental upside that Rypien no longer has at his age.
Last year the Vikings only kept two half-backs on their initial 53-man roster, although they later added Cam Akers. I expect them to go with a total of four running backs on their initial roster this year, including fullback C.J. Ham.
Aaron Jones will be the...
