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Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster: How Did We Do?

Hannah Foslien

The other day, I attempted to do a projection of who I thought the Vikings would keep on the 53-man roster. With the final roster having been released a couple of hours ago, let's see how close I managed to get, along with some comments about how the final roster ended up being structured.

Here's a quick look at what I had compared to what actually happened.

Projection Pos Actual Roster
Christian Ponder, Matt Cassel, McLeod Bethel-Thompson (3) QB Ponder, Cassel, Bethel-Thompson (3)
Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart, Joe Banyard (3) RB Peterson, Gerhart, Matt Asiata (3)
Zach Line (1) FB Line (1)
Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jerome Simpson, Joe Webb (5) WR Jennings, Wright, Patterson, Simpson, Webb (5)
Kyle Rudolph, John Carlson, Rhett Ellison (3) TE Rudolph, Carlson, Ellison (3)
Matt Kalil, Charlie Johnson, John Sullivan, Brandon Fusco, Phil Loadholt, Joe Berger, Jeff Baca, Seth Olsen, Kevin Murphy (9) OL Kalil, Johnson, Sullivan, Fusco, Loadholt, Berger, Baca, Troy Kropog (8)
Jared Allen, Brian Robison, Everson Griffen, D'Aundre Reed (4) DE Allen, Robison, Griffen, George Johnson (4)
Kevin Williams, Sharrif Floyd, Fred Evans, Letroy Guion, Anthony McCloud (5) DT Williams, Floyd, Evans, Guion, Chase Baker (5)
Chad Greenway, Erin Henderson, Desmond Bishop, Marvin Mitchell, Michael Mauti, Gerald Hodges, Larry Dean (7) LB Greenway, Henderson, Bishop, Mitchell, Mauti, Hodges, Dean, Audie Cole (8)
Chris Cook, Xavier Rhodes, Josh Robinson, Marcus Sherels, A.J. Jefferson (5) CB Cook, Rhodes, Robinson, Sherels, Jefferson (5)
Harrison Smith, Jamarca Sanford, Mistral Raymond, Robert Blanton, Andrew Sendejo (5) S Smith, Sanford, Raymond, Blanton, Sendejo (5)
Blair Walsh (1) K Walsh (1)
Jeff Locke (1) P Locke (1)
Cullen Loeffler (1) LS Loeffler (1)


So, as far as I can tell, it looks like we went got 49 48 of the 53 spots on the roster correct. Not bad, could have been better. Couple of things that stand out.

-I'm kind of surprised by the decision to keep 8 linebackers at the expense of another offensive lineman. Then again, there are some linebackers with injury concerns among the group. I have to wonder if one of those linebackers (most likely Cole) will be the first on the chopping block if the Vikings look at other players that have been cut.

-Seth Olsen got moved to injured reserve because of the concussion he suffered on Thursday night. I think he would have made the roster had he not gotten hurt. Also surprised that the team didn't cut DeMarcus Love, who is looking at a four-game suspension, but maybe they liked what they saw enough to give him a spot when he gets back.

-Of the Vikings' nine draft picks in 2013, seven of them made the final roster, with the only ones failing to do so being a pair of seventh-rounders, offensive lineman Travis Bond and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins.

-The team only kept five receivers, which isn't terribly surprising. Like we've mentioned in the past, Stephen Burton had his moments this pre-season, but he also had a couple of lapses that probably wound up costing him. His downfield blocking will be missed.

-Matt Asiata over Joe Banyard is not surprising, but I'm still a bit disappointed by it. I thought Banyard showed really well this pre-season, but he just couldn't unseat the incumbent.

What are your thoughts about how the 53-man roster turned out, folks? Have you seen anyone from other teams get cut that you'd like our favorite football team to pursue?