The Minnesota Vikings closed their preseason with a one-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.
While results do not count towards anything, the loss marks a second-consecutive winless record in preseason. However, the mission of preseason remains the same: evaluating players on the roster bubble.
It’s partly why the Vikings didn’t play many of their starters during the games. For example, Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson spent their time on the sideline without pads, while Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall saw a bulk of the team’s snaps.
Saturday’s game marked a different approach. More and more projected starters or key backups did not appear in the Vikings preseason finale, instead, undrafted free agents and likely roster cuts earned a tryout.
Here are 5 takeaways from those players, who saw most of the first-half snaps.