Vikings announce official 53-man roster; draft pick DeWayne McBride waived
MINNEAPOLIS -- As the start of the Minnesota Vikings' season inches ever closer, some tough decisions needed to be made.
Prior to the 3 p.m. Tuesday deadline, the Vikings and the 31 other NFL teams all needed to cut their roster down to 53 players.
With most of the starters set on offense, the intrigue is mostly on the defensive side of the ball. But there were positional battles deeper on the offensive depth chart worth keeping an eye on.
Below, WCCO is tracking every roster move the Vikings move in connection with the cutdown deadline.
Full list of roster moves ahead of cut deadline
Here is a one-stop overview of the roster moves that have been made for Tuesday's roster-cut deadline:
Vikings Announce Roster Moves (Aug. 29, 2023) by WCCO - CBS Minnesota on Scribd
Vikings announce official 53-man roster
The #Vikings have finalized roster moves to set their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 29, 2023
Rookie RB DeWayne McBride waived
The Athletic's Alec Lewis reports the Vikings are waiving rookie running back DeWayne McBride.
The UAB product was a seventh round pick after leading the nation in rushing yards and coming second in rushing touchdowns in his final season.
Former Gopher Esezi Otomewo cut
The Vikings cut some homegrown talent on Tuesday.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, 2022 fifth-round pick Esezi Otomewo, a defensive lineman, will be released.
CB Joejuan Williams released; Najee Thompson sticking around
The Vikings have released lengthy cornerback Joejuan Williams, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Williams was a second round pick by the New England Patriots in 2019. The Vikings signed him as a free agent earlier this offseason.
Pelissero also reported special teams standout Najee Thompson was being waived, but later rescinded that report. Thompson was an undrafted free agent signing in April.
LB Luiji Vilain, WR Trishton Jackson waived
The Vikings continue to make cuts, reportedly waiving linebacker Luiji Vilain and wide receiver Trishton Jackson.
The moves were reported by Alec Lewis of The Athletic and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, respectively.
Vilain and Jackson both came into the league as undrafted free agents.
Teams reportedly making trade calls on WR Jalen Reagor
There is reportedly trade interest around depth wide receiver Jalen Reagor. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports multiple teams have called the Vikings about his availability.
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2 defensive linemen reportedly cut
The Vikings have cut defensive linemen Ross Blacklock and Sheldon Day, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
The #Vikings cut defensive linemen Ross Blacklock and Sheldon Day, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 29, 2023
Vikings announce 15 cuts
The Vikings announced their first round of cuts Monday morning. The following players are no longer on the roster:
- DL Calvin Avery
- CB Kalon Barnes
- CB C.J. Coldon, Jr.
- T Christian DiLauro
- CB Jameson Houston
- LB Wilson Huber
- WR Garett Maag
- RB Abram Smith
- OL Josh Sokol
- QB Jordan Ta'amu
- TE Colin Thompson
- T Jarrid Williams
- LB Jake Gervase
- LB Tanner Vallejo
- CB Tay Gowan
Gowan was waived with an injury designation. Gervase and Vallejo are eligible to sign elsewhere immediately, while the rest of the players will be subject to waivers.
Vikings trade backup tackle to Patriots
The Vikings announced Monday they have traded backup offensive lineman Vederian Lowe to the New England Patriots.
The Patriots are sending a sixth round pick to the Vikings for Lowe, pending a physical.
The #Vikings have acquired a 2024 6th-round pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for T Vederian Lowe.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 28, 2023
The completion of the trade is pending Lowe passing a physical.
The Vikings drafted the 6-foot-6, 320-pound tackle in the sixth round last year. Though Lowe played well in the preseason, the Vikings have two experienced, versatile swing linemen on the roster in Oli Udoh and Blake Brandel.