Vikings Fans Got Fooled By 3 Players
The Minnesota Vikings announced their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday. Of course, they have already adjusted the squad when Adam Thielen was acquired a day later. Some players were surprisingly left off, others were just as surprisingly included.
Vikings Fans Got Fooled By 3 Players
That happens every year, but usually the jaw-droppers are guys who were just assumed to be safe and had a quiet summer. For the Vikings, however, three camp and preseason standouts were just crossed off the list.
Lucky Jackson
Minnesota’s depleted wideout room was so banged up in training camp that the depth players rotated with the first-team unit. Jeshaun Jones and Tim Jones suddenly caught passes from J.J. McCarthy. Among those was Lucky Jackson, a practice squad veteran. Because he got the most first-team reps of the depth receivers, he was assumed to be ahead of the group.
Then, in the first unofficial depth chart for the preseason opener, the Vikings listed him as a second-string receiver, meaning he was WR4. Considering teams typically carry five or six receivers, he was on a good track to be included, especially with Jordan Addison’s daunting suspension taking him out for three games.
Not so fast, said the Vikings, and just left him off. Tim Jones and Myles Price were retained behind expected roster players Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor, and Tai Felton. Jackson, instead, was stashed on the practice squad for the third consecutive year.
Zemaiah Vaughn
The cornerback position is another shaky group for the Vikings, especially given that the depth is practically nonexistent behind starters Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, and Jeff Okudah. Mekhi Blackmon was traded, and everyone expected the club would keep Dwight McGlothern and rookie Zemaiah Vaughn.
Vaughn was viewed as a rising star in the spring and in the summer. Beat writers frequently mentioned the undrafted rookie as someone who had turned heads.
In the preseason, he looked like a rookie and made mistakes. The most significant misstep occurred in the preseason finale when he slipped, allowing Van Jefferson to have a big touchdown catch. Vaughn is also on the practice squad and evidently not the next Ivan Pace Jr.
Gabriel Murphy
Speaking of the next Ivan Pace Jr., Gabriel Murphy was expected to be that guy a year ago. Unfortunately, he missed the entire preseason injured and didn’t return until the second half of the season. The Vikings kept him on the roster all year, but he didn’t make much of an impact in only two appearances.
Fast forward to training camp in 2025, reports suggested that he had taken a massive step forward and could be a big-time contributor this year. He confirmed that suspicion in the preseason, where he overpowered other backups and logged 1.5 sacks and a handful of QB hits.
But it turns out the preseason can lie, as the Vikings cut him in favor of Chaz Chambliss and Bo Richter. Possibly just as shocking as the release was that no other team picked him up off waivers, and he was just re-signed to the practice squad.
Not only can the preseason lie, perhaps coaches can, too. Just a couple of weeks ago, after his first preseason explosion, head coach Kevin O’Connell said, “Gabe’s been a guy that has shown up daily at camp, highlighted in front of the team. It feels like a man on a mission right now in a lot of ways. And I’m just proud of him, proud of where he’s at in camp right now.”
The Vikings didn’t lose any of those three players, but their camp hype was overblown.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.