The Minnesota Vikings are bound to compete for the NFC North title next season and are almost certain, barring a massive injury issue, to get into the playoffs. 2024 starting quarterback Sam Darnold might be gone, but JJ McCarthy might be even more efficient.
The defense is going to be tremendous. Free-agent additions will improve an already good unit and make it one of the three best in the league. That is, of course, if Minnesota can draft well along the defensive line and at cornerback.
All the moves could be great for the team, but they might not be fun for the players below. They might need to find a new team before the 2025 season begins.
These three Vikings might not make the 53-man roster in 2025
Linebacker Brian Asamoah
Asamoah isn't a terrible player, but he is almost solely a special-teams contributor. In the last two seasons, he has played 69 defensive snaps. This makes him a good guy to have around for only the third phase of the game, but it also makes him expendable.
He has no room to move up on the depth chart at linebacker, and the Vikings have a need at cornerback and along the interior of the defensive line. Asamoah could be taking up a roster spot that a player at one of those position needs.
While special teams guys can be valuable, the real value lies in their ability to do kick and punt coverage well and get some quality reps on defense (in the case of Asamoah). So far, through three seasons, he hasn't shown that he can do that.
Defensive end Levi Drake Rodriguez
The additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave this offseason might have helped the Vikings overall, but they were highly detrimental to Rodriguez's career. The 2024 seventh-round pick might have been hoping for a chance to prove himself in 2025, but those hopes seem dashed now. Plus, Minnesota is likely to address the defensive line relatively early in the 2025 draft.
Rodriquez is already penciled in as a backup, but if the Vikings add quality in the draft, that probably pushes him off the team. He could fall to the practice squad, which wouldn't be so bad for his growth as a player. He is a good person and worth having around, but he simply is not going to get many reps on defense.
Cornerback Dwight McGlothern
Another player added in 2024, McGlothern, went undrafted out of Arkansas. He did have two passes thrown his way last year, and neither was completed. If he never plays another down in the NFL, at least he will leave with a passer rating allowed of a perfect 39.6. The problem for the corner is that he doesn't have enough speed or physicality to be disruptive.
Cornerback is almost certain to be a position that the Vikings add to early in the draft, and that is bad news for McGlothern. As with Rodriguez, McGlothern could probably fall to the practice squad as another team is unlikely to pick him up.