Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Vikings won’t return to practice until late July, but there is plenty going on at TCO Performance Center writes @jzulgad.
The Vikings wrapped up their offseason program on Wednesday with the second practice of their mandatory minicamp. The next time the team will gather will be in late July to begin training camp.
So what did we learn during the workouts that were open to the media? Here are a few things, although plenty is likely to change before the Vikings’ regular-season opener on Sept. 10 against Tampa Bay.
If the NFL passes a new rule allowing fair catches to count as touchbacks, Kene Nwangwu could become expendable this offseason.
Having a dynamite returner is a really nice luxury on your roster. The Minnesota Vikings have seen their fair share of talented kick returners play for them. From Percy Harvin to Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels, there have been some really dynamic returners over the last 15 years to wear the purple and gold.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, a rule change could potentially hinder the kick return game even more. With the spring meetings happening at TCO Performance Center this week, they could implement the college football kickoff rule. That states that a fair catch inside the 25-yard line would be considered a touchback. That would automatically place the ball at the 25-yard line.
The proposal was in response to an uptick in concussions on kickoffs over the last three seasons—with 10 such concussions happening in 2020, 14 in ’21 and 19 last season.
Would that put kick returner Kene Nwangwu’s job in jeopardy? It very well could. Over his first two seasons, Nwangwu has only played 47 snaps on offense and hasn’t shown any aptitude to be a weapon on offense. Without any value on offense and his value as a kick returner devalued even more, could the Vikings cut the former second-team All-Pro?
In my first 53-man roster prediction, I didn’t have Nwangwu making the team due to his lack of versatility on offense. If this passes, the same could happen come end of August.
With the addition of 21 rookies to the 90-man roster, there are some veterans who could be on the chopping block.
After the Minnesota Vikings selected six players in the 2023 NFL draft and signed 15 undrafted free agents, things become a little harder for some veterans on the roster.
Every year, there is usually a surprise cut or two from each team each year due to the talent acquired in the offseason.
Who could be on the chopping block? Here are five veterans the Vikings could cut before week one with contract numbers from Over the Cap.
The Minnesota Vikings have 5 picks in the 2023 NFL draft. See their history at each of their selections.
The Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to pick five times in the 2023 NFL draft. That would be he least amount of picks the Vikings have made since they selected five times in both 2008 and 2009.
Over the 62 year history of the Vikings, they have never made fewer than five draft picks, while making an NFL record 15 seletctions in the 2020 NFL draft.
The Vikings picks currently sit at 23, 87, 119, 158 and 211 and they have made a combined 11 picks at those selections. Here are how the Vikings have picked at each spot
The Vikings currently have 50 players under contract going into the 2023 offseason
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a lot of work to do this offseason to get the Vikings roster under the cap and ready to go for the 2023 season.
There is a lot of talk about impending free agents and potential cap casualties for the Vikings this offseason, but not so much about the other players that are under contract.
According to Over The Cap, the Vikings have 50 players currently under contract and sit $23,051,507 over the projected salary cap. Here is all 50 players under contract with the details of their current contracts.
The Vikings will miss Dantzler on Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings have overall been a healthy team and the injury report from Friday exemplifies that. According to a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, safety Harrison Smith and kick returner Kene Nwangwu will play against the New York Giants but cornerback Cameron Dantzler will miss the game.
Just mentioned on @nflnetwork: #Vikings S Harrison Smith (knee) and RB/KR Kene Nwangwu (illness) are good to go against the #Giants. CB Cameron Dantzler (ankle/personal) will be out.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 15, 2023
Dantzler has missed the last three games due to both an ankle injury and a personal matter. He didn’t practice all week due to both issues.
Smith missed last week against the Chicago Bears due to lingering knee soreness that he experienced after practice last Friday
Nwangwu got the dreaded illness tag that has kept multiple Vikings out this season. His kick return ability could be a huge impact on Sunday’s game.
Four of the ten Vikings received a first-place vote
On Friday morning, the Associated Press named their All-Pro team and it included three Minnesota Vikings. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson and long snapper Andrew DePaola made the first team and kick returner Kene Nwangwu made the second team.
With how the All-Pro voting goes, all 50 voters pick their first team and second team and they build the teams based on that. The voting is simple: three points for a first-place vote and one point for a second-place vote.
The three Vikings who earned All-Pro honors weren’t the only ones to receive votes. 10 Vikings received an All-Pro vote with four of them receiving a first-place vote. Here is how the Vikings did in the All-Pro voting.
The Vikings earned multiple AP All-Pro honors
After waiting throughout the week for the Associated Press to drop their All-Pro teams, they finally did on Friday morning.
After seeing the NFLPA and PFF drop their All-Pro teams, the prestigious AP All-Pro team is the one that everyone wants to be on.
As you can imagine, there is a lot of crossover with all three lists, including multiple consensus choices, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes being the first-team quarterback on all three lists.
The Minnesota Vikings had three players earn AP All-Pro honors in 2022.
The Vikings picked up their fifth player of the week award on the season
For the fourth time this season, a Minnesota Vikings has been named NFC Player of the Week. For his performance in week 12 against the New England Patriots, kick return ace Kene Nwangwu has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
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KENE 🏃💨@NwangwuKene has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/EDoKfsHDRd
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 30, 2022
Nwangwu has been a sleeping giant all season, being just inches away from a couple of long returns. Well, he finally got it on Sunday, busting out a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to tie the game at 23.
As mentioned above, Nwangwu becomes the fifth player to win a player of the week award joining Justin Jefferson, Za’Darius Smith, Ryan Wright and Greg Joseph.
On the season, Nwangwu leads the league in averaging 25.8 yards per return over 24 returns. He is also in line to make the Pro Bowl being second in the vote currently.
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The studs outweighed the duds on Thanksgiving night
The Minnesota Vikings bounced back in the biggest of ways on Thanksgiving night by beating the New England Patriots 33-26.
The game was a tremendous back-and-forth contest with all 12 scores either tying the game or having one team take the lead. Both quarterbacks were dealing and the offensive lines protected their quarterbacks well for the majority of the game.
The game was excellent and the performances from the Vikings were mostly positive as the studs outnumbered the duds two to one.
