Vikings Announce 53-Man Roster
By Dan Zinski
The Vikings have cut all the players necessary to get down to 53. There were some surprises, including the release of veterans Heath Farwell, Jeff Dugan and Ryan Cook. Here’s how the 53-man roster breaks down (pending free agent signings and trades). Presumptive starters are boldfaced.
QB (3): Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder, Joe Webb
RB (3): Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart, Lorenzo Booker
TE (4): Visanthe Shiancoe, Jim Kleinsasser, Kyle Rudolph, Allen Reisner
WR (5): Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, Michael Jenkins, Greg Camarillo, Devin Armoashodu
OT (4): Charlie Johnson, Phil Loadholt, DeMarcus Love, Patrick Brown
OG (3): Steve Hutchinson, Anthony Herrera, Seth Olsen
C (3): John Sullivan, Jon Cooper, Brandon Fusco
DE (5): Jared Allen, Brian Robison, Everson Griffen, Adrian Awasom, D’Aundre Reed
DT (5): Kevin Williams (Suspended), Remi Ayodele, Letroy Guion, Fred Evans, Christian Ballard
LB (5): E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway, Erin Henderson, Kenny Onatolu, Larry Dean
CB (6): Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin, Chris Cook, Asher Allen, Brandon Burton, Marcus Sherels
S (5): Husain Abdullah, Tyrell Johnson, Jamarca Sanford, Eric Frampton, Mistral Raymond
P (1): Chris Kluwe
K (1): Ryan Longwell
LS (1): Cullen Loeffler
IR: Jasper Brinkley
Keep in mind, even as we speak the Vikings could very easily be seeking to bring in free agents or swing trades. So this list is far from final. Just looking over the cuts in a cursory way, one thing leaps out at me: A lot of Brad Childress favorites were shown the door today by Rick Spielman, Leslie Frazier and the new regime. I don’t mean to suggest there was a conscious effort made to sweep aside as much of the Chilly legacy as possible, but I think it’s obvious that Frazier and Spielman tried to keep as many of their own draft picks/UDFA pick-ups as possible, often at the expense of guys who were left over from Childress’ days. Consciously or unconsciously, Spielman and Frazier have sent a message that this is their team.