Vikings waive LS Austin Cutting and LB Hardy Nickerson

After a couple of weeks of carrying a pair of long snappers, the Minnesota Vikings finally made a decision on Tuesday.

The team has announced that they have waived long snapper Austin Cutting, but reportedly want to sign him back to the practice squad to keep him in their program and give him an opportunity to compete for the job next season.

Cutting was the Vikings’ final pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of the Air Force Academy, and had a fairly successful rookie season. . .I think, anyway, as far as long snappers go. He had several issues this year, however, and the Vikings brought in veteran Andrew DePaola to compete for the job. DePaola had been on the practice squad and got “elevated” to the 53-man roster the past two games with Cutting being a healthy scratch, and now the job belongs to DePaola for the rest of this season, barring injury.

The team has announced that they have also waived linebacker Hardy Nickerson. The former Bengal was signed by the Vikings in the preseason and was signed to the active roster in September.

The Vikings have also waived cornerback Marcus Sayles from the practice squad.

With the moves they’ve made today, the Vikings’ roster currently sits at 51 players. They have designated cornerback Mark Fields II to return from injured reserve following the punctured lung he suffered in Green Bay, which would put them back to 52. We’ll have to see what sort of move they make to fill that last roster spot.