5 most surprising cuts the Minnesota Vikings made in 2021

Andrew DePaola – LS

This may have been the most shocking cut the Vikings made on Tuesday. The team cut their long snapper Andrew DePaola and they don’t currently have another one on the roster.

This is shocking for a couple of reasons. First of all, there never seemed to be any issues with DePaola’s snaps. The ball always seemed to be on target, whether it was a punt or a field goal, and if there was an issue, it was usually with the hold, or the kicker just shanking the kick.

The other concern is that bringing in a new long snapper this late in the summer will throw off the timing of the kicking and punting game. Assuming the Vikings do keep kicker Greg Joseph and punter Britton Colquitt, they are both accustomed to the speed and delivery of DePaola’s snaps. Bringing in someone new would be like starting from square one. This would be a very risky move this close to the start of the season.

The Vikings, no doubt, have a plan for the long snapping position. Perhaps they are going away from Greg Joseph at kicker and will go after one who was recently released, and maybe there’s a free-agent long snapper out there who is familiar with one of those kickers.

Maybe they plan on bringing DePaola back in some fashion, whether it be on the practice squad, or if they sign him after scouring the free-agent wire and making room for him by cutting other players.

Whatever it is, it was surprising to see the team cut down to 53 players and not have a long snapper on the roster.