If things have been a little slow since Schism-gate, they're about to pick up. As Judd Zulgad reports, two rounds of roster cuts are looming in the upcoming week: The roster will be trimmed to 75 following the Monday Night Football meeting with the Texans, and then it will be taken down to 53 after Friday's Cowboys game.
The Vikings have just three days of rest in between games, but this is obviously a non-issue in preseason football. While the starters will be getting a considerable amount of playing time on Monday, that will not be the case on Friday. And unfortunately, if you're looking for a reason to watch that Cowboys game, it's at the Metrodome -- so Chris Kluwe won't have an opportunity to hit Dallas' scoreboard with a towering punt.
So the intrigue of Friday is limited to some last-ditch attempts by players to gain the upper hand in roster spot battles. But there will be no shortage on intrigue on Monday, as Brett Favre is expected to play the entire first half.
If he plays well? It should ease concerns that he lacks enough time to get fully-prepared for the season. And if he doesn't play well? He'll have to hustle through these final two weeks before the Vikings travel to Cleveland. Additionally, Sage Rosenfels will be back on the field, and he'll be splitting time in the second half with T-Jack. They'd get just a quarter each without Booty playing, so I wonder if Chilly even tries getting JDB in the game.
I'm not wild about the fact that Monday's game is being broadcasted by Adam Schefter's network, and if you don't mind a little conspiracy, you might wonder if his reports from the last week were meant to build buzz for the game. I just hope we can get through the game without Schefter dropping in on the broadcast, but I'm not optimistic about that.
On another note, Detroit claimed Glenn Holt off waivers after the Vikings released the wide receiver on Thursday. Congrats to the Lions for landing a player who is arguably the missing piece of their puzzle. How can the Vikings compete with Detroit now that Holt is giving them their secrets? I don't know, dear reader, I just don't know.