4 Vikings we already know will (probably) be gone in 2023
By Randy Smith
With the Minnesota Vikings season a quarter underway, players have carved roles for themselves to show who won’t be back in 2023.
The start by the Minnesota Vikings in the Kevin O’Connell era has shined brightly in beginning the regular season with a 3-1 record for the first time since 2012. In that season, under Leslie Frazier, the Vikings reached the wild-card round.
While the 2012 team certainly fell short of a Lombardi trophy, the idea of Minnesota’s first playoff appearance since 2019 not only sounds enticing, but formidable as well.
Collectively, Minnesota has shown its resiliency and overall grit, a much-needed characteristic of the team. But not all members of the 53-man roster have risen to the occasion, and these players have shown where their services may not be needed in 2023.
When factoring in player trajectory, team trajectory, and player contracts, who are a few current members of the Vikings that have a slim chance of returning to the team in 2023?
Player No. 1
Bisi Johnson – WR
Bisi Johnson‘s debut season with the Vikings paved way for hope when the wide receiver finished the year with 294 receiving yards and three touchdowns. But since the 2019 season, things have faltered.
The following year, Johnson saw both his receiving yards and touchdowns go down, as well as his receptions. From there, the wide receiver suffered an ACL injury last summer as well as this year that landed him on season-ending injured reserve both times.
Added in with the fast rise of K.J. Osborn, who had 655 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season and has already started this year with 118 receiving yards and a touchdown, it’s hard to see a future where Johnson is on the team.
Johnson’s contract runs out in 2023, and with a three-headed monster at the receiver position combined with back-to-back years on injured reserve, his time in Minnesota seems to be running out. A once hopeful story appears to have seen its ending rather quickly.