Who are some of the current members of the Minnesota Vikings that might not be among the players selected for the team’s final 2023 roster?
In just a few weeks, the Minnesota Vikings will be using their selections in the 2023 NFL Draft to add a group of new players to their roster for the upcoming season.
Based on how the Vikings decide to use their picks, we should be able to figure out what their future plans might be for some of their current players.
Some of Minnesota’s current players will be given an opportunity for a larger role next season, while others will have to give their all just to earn a spot at the very bottom of the roster.
Then there will be a number of veteran players who will be left behind when the Vikings decide who they’re going to keep around on their final 2023 roster.
So of the current members of their roster, who are some of the guys that might not be among the final 53 players for the 2023 season?
Kene Nwangwu – RB/KR
Selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Kene Nwangwu has been electrifying as a kick returner during his time with the team.
In his two seasons with Minnesota, Nwangwu has averaged 28.3 yards per kick return, and he’s returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. His three kick return-touchdowns are the most in the NFL since 2021.
Despite his excellence as a kick returner, Nwangwu hasn’t really provided the Vikings with very much production in their offense as a running back. Since 2021, he’s only carried the ball 22 times and caught six passes, in addition to not having a single non-kick return touchdown.
Minnesota could be interested in taking a running back during this year’s NFL Draft at the end of the month, especially if they end up parting ways with Dalvin Cook before then.
If the Vikings draft a running back this year, where does that leave Nwangwu? Would Minnesota keep him around just to basically be the team’s kick returner, or would they prefer to have a player as their kick returner who can also make an impact for the team on offense or defense?
D.J. Wonnum – OLB
Remember when D.J. Wonnum was tabbed as someone who could turn into the next Danielle Hunter for the Vikings? That hasn’t exactly happened, has it?
Wonnum actually had a pretty solid season for Minnesota in 2021 when he generated 30 total pressures and eight sacks. But he took a bit of a step back last season, finishing with just 13 pressures and four sacks despite appearing in 16 games.
This offseason, the Vikings signed former New Orleans Saints pass rusher Marcus Davenport to a one-year deal. This signing was just a year after Minnesota also signed outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to a multi-year contract.
If Minnesota was confident in Wonnum being able to help them achieve their goals on the defensive side of the ball, then they probably wouldn’t have decided to spend a bunch of money signing Smith and Davenport during the last two offseasons.
Perhaps new Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will want to see if he can bring the best out of Wonnum in 2023. But don’t be surprised if Minnesota decides to move on from the pass rusher before the start of next season also.
Brandon Powell – WR
After two years with the Los Angeles Rams, wide receiver Brandon Powell decided to follow Kevin O’Connell to the Twin Cities and sign with the Vikings this offseason.
The 5-foot-8, 188-pound Powell only caught 24 passes for 156 yards with the Rams in 2022, but his primary duties were mostly on special teams as the team’s punt and kick returner.
In 17 games with Los Angeles last season, Powell averaged 7.4 yards on 24 punt returns and 20.2 yards on 30 kick returns. If he is able to perform well during training camp and the preseason this summer, it’s possible that he could replace Jalen Reagor as Minnesota’s punt returner and Kene Nwangwu as the team’s kick returner.
However, a spot on the Vikings’ final 2023 roster definitely isn’t being handed to Powell. The former Rams return specialist signed a one-year deal worth a little more than $1.2 million with Minnesota this offseason, but only $275,000 of the contract was guaranteed at signing.
So if the Vikings decide they’re not going to keep Powell on the roster for the 2023 season, the team will only be on the hook for that $275,000, and they’ll free up almost $900,000 in cap space.
Greg Joseph – K
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Vikings currently have a kicker who is capable of making difficult kicks in crunch time, but his performance isn’t consistent enough to feel confident about his chances whenever he steps onto the field to attempt a field goal or extra point.
This offseason, Minnesota decided to re-sign kicker Greg Joseph to a one-year contract worth $2 million. Even though the Vikings’ current regime appears to be all about continuity, the move to bring back Joseph for his third season with the team was still a bit surprising.
In 2022, he made several game-winning kicks. Overall, however, Joseph was one of the worst kickers in the NFL last season. He finished the 2022 campaign ranking 28th in the league in field goal percentage and 24th in extra-point percentage.
It would be shocking if Minnesota didn’t bring in some competition for Joseph before the start of training camp this summer. With how poorly he performed in 2022, the Vikings would also just be plain foolish to hand over the kicking job back to Joseph without forcing him to earn his spot on the team’s final 2023 roster.
Jonathan Bullard – DL
Last summer, the Vikings decided to take a chance on Jonathan Bullard, who has been a bit of a journeyman defensive lineman since he entered the NFL in 2016.
During his time in the league, Bullard has been a member of five different franchises, including Minnesota. After a solid performance as a role player on the Vikings’ defense in 2022, the team decided to re-sign him this offseason to a new one-year contract worth a little more than $1.3 million.
Just as with Brandon Powell, however, the terms of Bullard’s deal make it far from a guarantee that he will be a part of Minnesota’s final 2023 roster. Of the money that his contract is worth, only $50,000 of it was guaranteed at signing.
So if the Vikings wanted to include Bullard as part of their final cuts before the start of the 2023 regular season, they would free up more than $1 million in cap space, and they would only be left with a dead cap amount of $50,000.
If Bullard wants to remain with Minnesota for another season, then he’ll have to make sure he does enough during training camp and the preseason this summer to impress the team’s new defensive coordinator, Brian Flores.
Nick Mullens – QB
Despite re-signing Nick Mullens to a new two-year contract worth $4 million this offseason, who the No. 2 quarterback for the 2023 season is going to be is something that likely hasn’t been decided yet for the Vikings.
Multiple draft analysts have reported during the last few weeks that Minnesota has been “doing their homework” on this year’s group of quarterback prospects. With Kirk Cousins currently under contract until the end of the 2023 season, the odds of the Vikings selecting a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft seem pretty high.
So if Minnesota drafts a young signal-caller in a few weeks, where does that leave Mullens? Would the Vikings keep the veteran around to be the backup behind Cousins, or would the team want the rookie passer to have the No. 2 job in 2023?
Considering Minnesota gave Mullens a two-year contract, it seems like they would like to keep him around regardless of whether they draft a quarterback at the end of the month or not.
But if the Vikings select a young passing prospect in this year’s NFL Draft and that rookie significantly impresses the team’s coaching staff with their performance this summer, Minnesota figuring out a way to get Mullens off of the roster isn’t something that should be completely ruled out.