NASHVILLE — An east-facing patio that overlooks four well-manicured fields of Kentucky bluegrass at the Vikings’ new practice facility became the unofficial gathering spot for the team’s brass this preseason, a place to meet and go over the depth chart and decompress from two-a-days.
After the Vikings closed the preseason Thursday night here with a 13-3 win over the Tennessee Titans, they return to Eagan Friday morning, and possibly that perch, to iron out the 37 roster cuts that lie ahead by 3 p.m. Saturday.
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“At the end of the day, we’ll sit down together and talk about it,” Mike Zimmer said. “Coaches always want the now and GMs always want the future. So we try to get on the same page and figure it out.”
With Thursday night’s sleepy preseason finale in the books, we take a look at some of the key positions and players that still need to be decided after the win against the Titans provided a last chance to make an impression.
Who are the wide receivers?
This position may be the most disappointing one of the preseason. The top three receivers are well known. But beyond that, few players turned in performances that warranted climbing the depth chart. Stacy Coley didn’t play much thanks to a nagging injury. Kendall Wright caught one pass for nine yards in his three games of preseason action, creating a chance for other wide receivers to take his spot as the team’s fourth wide receiver. But few capitalized. Brandon Zylstra had his moments, including a 24-yard touchdown reception Thursday, but was also plagued by an injury. Chad Beebe looked great the first three preseason games, but just as it seemed he was destined for a roster spot, an injury kept him out of practices and this game.
So beyond Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Laquon Treadwell, the Vikings’ wide receiver position remains murky. Wright was one of 38 players Zimmer didn’t play in Thursday’s game, so perhaps he does have a spot on the 53-man roster — in part because there are few options without him.
“I thought he started out when he got here a little bit slow and I think he was trying to grasp everything, coming from Chicago and been in the same offense for a while,” offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “And then once he grasped what we were really trying to do I think over in training camp and the last few OTAs you really saw his game take off. I’m very, very pleased with Kendall. I think he is a really good inside receiver.”
Zylstra’s touchdown reception was impressive, though Zimmer said afterward that Zylstra also dropped a first-quarter pass that “he should’ve caught.”
1️⃣➡️1️⃣5️⃣@Kylesloter and @Brandon_zylstra add to the #Vikings lead. pic.twitter.com/ZPc0xBBH2T
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 31, 2018
Zylstra said he thought at the beginning of every drive about the opportunities he didn’t have because of his injury in training camp, and tried to make the most of his chance Thursday night. He finished with four catches for 54 yards.
“I didn’t have as many games to prove myself this preseason, so every drive I was telling myself I’ve got to push through all these pains and just get out there and make plays.”
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Does Kyle Sloter make it?
After a slow start to training camp for Kyle Sloter, there was a real chance that the Vikings would choose to roll with two quarterbacks — Kirk Cousins and Trevor Siemian. But for all the apparent struggles in practices, Sloter has shown up in a big way for the games, outplaying Siemian in them even if it’s a small sample size and even if Siemian faces better competition in those games.
But again on Thursday, Sloter outplayed Siemian as he threw for 130 yards on 11-of-15 passing compared to Siemian’s 55 yards on 6-of-11 passing. Zimmer indicated this week that Siemian remains the backup quarterback. He has experience that Sloter simply doesn’t and a 13-11 record as a starter.
But for a franchise that knows all too well the perils of quarterback injury, it now looks likely that Sloter is a member of Saturday’s 53-man roster.
“I thought he was better tonight actually than last week,” Zimmer said. “He was better in the huddle, better at communicating the plays. He was better with the clock management.”
Who’s the Week 1 center?
Pat Elflein, last season’s starting center, still hasn’t snapped a single ball to Kirk Cousins, stuck rehabbing all spring and summer from surgeries on his ankle and shoulder. With their trade for Brett Jones, it’s clear that the Vikings are preparing to begin the season without Elflein, the only remaining question being how much time Elflein misses.
In his place, the Vikings have three options to start at center. Jones is the most conventional, a 12-game starting center for the New York Giants last season. He has limited work with Cousins, but played well snapping to Eli Manning last season. Danny Isidora emerged this week as another option. The guard played center during practices and played center in the first half of Thursday’s game. If not either of them, the Vikings could turn to Cornelius Edison, though that seems the least likely since his play, in part, prompted the trade for Jones.
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Who’s the third running back?
The Vikings opened training camp with three candidates for the third running-back job — Mike Boone, Mack Brown, and Roc Thomas. But after Thursday’s game, the answer to this question seems much clearer than the others hanging over the Vikings with Week 1 approaching.
With another strong game Thursday, it’s hard to imagine that Boone won’t make the cut. He entered the preseason finale as the front-runner, then ran for a game-high 56 yards on 15 carries, and added a 46-yard screen pass.
“He’s hard to bring down when he has the ball in his hands,” Zimmer said. “He goes for extra yards. I thought he showed well all preseason.”
The high-school wide receiver posted impressive numbers at his pro day, part of what earned his invite to the Vikings. Boone made the most of that chance and is likely in store for good news Saturday afternoon.
“That’s out of my control,” he said of his chances to make the roster. “But I feel like I showcased what I could. Hopefully I left a good impression on those guys that make those decisions.”
How many cornerbacks make it?
After the Vikings surprised by drafting another cornerback in the first round in April, Zimmer proudly proclaimed that you can’t have enough good corners in the NFL. Well, the Vikings have plenty. The real remaining questions are whether Holton Hill and Marcus Sherels make the team.
First-round pick Mike Hughes was seen as the apparent successor to Sherels’ job as a return man, but special teams coach Mike Priefer has made it clear that he prefers Sherels to Hughes returning punts. And Sherels played fine in camp, too, setting himself up to make yet another roster few thought he would, potentially set for a ninth season with the Vikings.
Hill, meanwhile, entered with high expectations after ESPN proclaimed him the top undrafted free agent. His preseason was a bit of a mixed bag with struggles in the first couple games, but some impressive plays in the two most recent ones.
“It’s out of my hands now,” Hill said. “I went out and did everything I could do.”
(Top image: Kyle Sloter and Mike Boone are among the Vikings waiting to hear their fates Saturday. Credit: Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
