Vikings’ Preseason Loss Produced 5 Losers
The Minnesota Vikings lost the second preseason game, and the record is now split at 1-1. Of course, that doesn’t matter. What matters much more in the preseason are the individual performances of players, who are fighting for their dream of playing in the NFL. Next week, every franchise will cut nearly 40 players.
Five Vikings didn’t help their case on Saturday.
Sam Howell
The quarterback competition is real, head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed after the defeat. Sam Howell was one of the winners last week, but had a horrendous outing versus the Patriots, completing only one of his five passes. He left the game with a passer rating of 0.0.
In all fairness, Howell didn’t quite benefit from his surroundings, playing behind a second-team offensive line and throwing to second-team (at best) receivers against New England’s starting defense.
Still, not only did he fail to move the ball, which might have been acceptable under those circumstances, but he tossed the ball ill-advisedly to a defender when trying to wiggle out of a sack. That type of play is what drives coaches nuts and can cost a quarterback his job. Just take the sack, punt the ball away, and live to fight another day. Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer didn’t play flawless football, but they didn’t put plays like that on tape.
Ty Chandler
Running back Ty Chandler has been on the roster since the Vikings drafted him in 2022, but he might be in trouble now. In two preseason games, Chandler rushed eight times for 17 yards, while his challenger Zavier Scott just continues to make plays.
He has also drawn some public shots from his head coach concerning his pass-protection issues, and the kick-returning job is no longer his. Scott taking over is realistic. The Vikings could also just pick up someone from the waiver wire in a couple of weeks when the other 31 teams trim their rosters.
Ryan Wright
Punter Ryan Wright hasn’t done anything wrong this preseason. In fact, his punts have been totally fine. However, after three years of average punting, the club might be ready for a change.
Aussie rookie punter Oscar Chapman split punts with Wright and was the holder on three of Will Reichard’s kicks. The Vikings clearly want to audition Chapman in the kicking operation to figure out whether that is a reason to stick with Wright. It is not, as Reichard drilled all of them.
Lucky Jackson
Wideout Lucky Jackson had been an emerging player all summer long, until Saturday, when he dropped a pair of catchable passes. In the public perception, he went from the main WR3 candidate during Jordan Addison’s absence to “maybe this guy shouldn’t be on the roster” within one game.
His only saving grace is that no one else really stood out that day, unless you count Myles Price’s plays on special teams.
Mekhi Blackmon
It’s been a strange offseason for Mekhi Blackmon, who everyone thought would be a starter. The 2023 third-rounder missed all of last year with a torn ACL following a decent rookie season. The Vikings hired Jeff Okudah, who’s clearly ahead of the third-year players, and so are starters Isaiah Rodgers and Byron Murphy Jr. None of those three participated in the second preseason contest.
Blackmon had to, indicating he’s CB4 at best. Furthermore, if a potential starter is playing in the preseason against and next to backups and third-stringers, he better make plays. The former USC defender didn’t. Dwight McGlothern and Zemaiah Vaughn have been camp darlings and might start to climb the depth chart.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.