On Thursday news broke that the NFL is unlikely to keep lists of the typical 90 players for training camp this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the roster sizes will almost certainly drop to 75 or 80 players.
The NFL has already cut the preseason in half, so this is the logical next step when it comes to safety precautions. With just two preseason games, teams don’t necessarily need the full 90 players anyway.
“The league and the NFLPA are trying to determine the correct number of players each team can bring to camp, and that appears to be between 75 and 80,” Schefter wrote. “A plan that is discussed further is to divide the roster into two groups and have each practice at a different time, no matter how many players are allowed to show up at camp.”
Vikings currently have 87 players on their roster. These are some of the boys at the bottom of the list who might not be brought to camp if the Vikings are forced to cut seven to 12 players.
2020 UDFA / late round picks
This could be bad news for some of the 27 rookies the Vikings brought in this offseason. Obviously, I would expect everyone recruited in the first five or six rounds to be safe, but some late picks and especially undrafted free agents could potentially be in trouble.
- OT Blake Brandel (sixth round)
- S Josh Metellus (sixth round)
- DE Kenny Willekes (seventh round)
- QB Nate Stanley (seventh round)
- S Brian Cole II (seventh round)
- G Kyle Hinton (seventh round)
- CB Nevelle Clarke (UDFA)
- S Myles Dorn (UDFA)
- WR Quartney Davis (UDFA)
- WR Dan Chisena (UDFA)
- OT Brady Aiello (UDFA)
- G Tyler Higby (UDFA)
- C Jake Lacina (UDFA)
- TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart (UDFA)
- FB Jake Bargas (UDFA)
- LB Jordan Fehr (UDFA)
- LB Blake Lynch (UDFA)
- DT David Moa (UDFA)
Non-novice court candidates
If the Vikings decide they want to keep some of their undrafted free agents at camp to observe their abilities, they could wipe out some players who have already had at least one training ground to prove themselves.
- RB Tony Brooks-James
- WR Bralon Addison
- WR Dillon Mitchell
- WR Alexander Hollins
- WR Davion Davis
- QB Jake Browning
- TE Brandon Dillon
- DE Stacy Keely
- FROM Eddie Yarbrough
- CB Mark Fields
- CB Nate Meadors
- CB Marcus Sayles
- CB Kemon Hall
The Vikings will still have to narrow their roster to 53 players after training camp, with 12 practice squad positions available. However, the practice squadrons may expand further this year due to COVID-19.
Training camp is still scheduled to begin on July 28, although Schefter reports that there are “Increasing questions from league sources about whether the camp can start on time with the number of coronavirus cases across the country”.
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