Recent Vikings move could mean bad news for C.J. Ham this season

The Minnesota Vikings parted ways with five players on Tuesday, including fullback Jake Bargas, making C.J. Ham the only fullback left on the roster.

Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J Ham has pretty much been a fan favorite ever since he joined the team in 2016. Ham was actually a running back during his rookie season with the Vikings, but then he made the switch to fullback in 2017, and he’s been leading the way for Minnesota’s offensive backfield ever since.

Fullbacks are becoming less and less frequent around the NFL, and the Vikings could become the next team to not use one. With Kevin O’Connell now the team’s head coach, Minnesota is switching to a more modern offense, one that doesn’t really have much use for a fullback.

The Vikings entered training camp this summer with Ham and Jake Bargas as the team’s two fullbacks on their roster. On Tuesday, Minnesota decided to part ways with Bargas, leaving Ham as the only fullback on the team.

Will C.J. Ham still be a member of the Minnesota Vikings this season?

Looking at the Vikings’ decision to move on from Bargas on Tuesday, some might view it as Ham winning the fullback job. But it could also be a sign that Minnesota’s new regime doesn’t value fullbacks as much as the previous one did.

Last season, the Vikings used a fullback on 39 percent of their offensive plays according to Sharp Football Analysis. In their preseason matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday, Minnesota only used a fullback on 10 percent of their offensive plays.

Now, it was only an exhibition game, and O’Connell has already made it pretty clear that he’s not looking to use much of the new playbook in the public eye until the team’s regular-season opener. Still, it’s difficult for anyone to believe that Ham is going to have much of a role in the Vikings’ new offense based on the history of the scheme that they will be using this year.

Will Bargas end up being the only fullback Minnesota releases before the start of the regular season or will Ham be joining him out the door when it comes time for the team to select their final 2022 roster?