Vikings Say Goodbye to 2 Defensive Linemen
Josh Frey
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The deadline to cut NFL rosters down to 53 players is today at 3 PM.
The Minnesota Vikings have been making multiple moves over the past couple days in order to get to that magic number of 53.
Late Monday night, the Vikings said goodbye to a pair of defensive linemen, cutting both Ross Blacklock and Sheldon Day. The moves were reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, who tweeted, “The #Vikings cut defensive linemen Ross Blacklock and Sheldon Day, per sources.”
Vikings Say Goodbye to 2 Defenders
Blacklock was acquired via trade by Minnesota prior to the 2022 season. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah sent a 2023 sixth-round pick to Houston in order to get Blacklock and a 2023 seventh-rounder.
The defensive lineman has been in the NFL for three seasons, and with the Vikings, he played 11 games during 2022. He amassed 2 tackles for loss and a sack over the course of the season.
Blacklock spent his collegiate years at TCU before becoming a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, being selected by the Texans. Over the course of his college career, he recorded 67 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.
This release by Minnesota allows the Vikings to save right around $1 million against the salary cap and was a predicted move here at PurplePTSD because of the financial situation.
Meanwhile, Sheldon Day has been an NFL journeyman since being a fourth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2016. He has had stints with the Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Cleveland Browns before joining the Vikings this offseason.
The defensive lineman played all three preseason games for the Vikings and appeared in 97 defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus gave him an elite overall defensive grade of 90.1 for his performance this summer.
Day had six pressures over the course of the three exhibition games, four of which came against the Tennessee Titans. He also sacked Malik Willis in that second preseason game.
With just hours remaining before the cutdown deadline, the Vikings roster now stands at 73 players. They will have to make moves on 20 more players prior to 3 PM.
On the defensive line, Minnesota still employs Dean Lowry, Harrison Phillips, Khyiris Tonga, Jonathan Bullard, Jaquelin Roy, Esezi Otomewo, Junior Aho, and T.J. Smith.
2023 Vikings Roster Cuts Tracker
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.