It’s inevitable – – the nature of the beast. A handful of players are on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster bubble as training camp got underway this week. The coaching staff and new general manager Nolan Teasley will trim the roster from 90 players to 53 in late August – – about one month from now.
And while the bubble players are certainly debatable, these are the main players at risk of missing the September roster who could go either way – – kept or released.
The Vikings’ Roster Bubble Is Already Taking Shape
1. Johnny Hekker | P
Hekker ranked 26th among 32 qualified punters in net average (40.3 yards) and tied for 17th with 22 punts downed inside the 20 in 2025. Is that good? Not really. Does Hekker have name recognition from six All-Pro nods and four Pro Bowls? He sure does. But that last time Hekker earned All-Pro kudos was eight years ago.
The veteran punter felt like a splashy signing in March after Ryan Wright left in free agency for the New Orleans Saints. He might punt well for the Vikings. Yet, Hekker must look over his shoulder, as rookie Brett Thorson from Georgia is on the Vikings’ summer roster. Thorson won the Ray Guy Award in 2025, which recognizes the best punter in the NCAA.
Without the Thorson UDFA signing, Hekker would be safe. Thorson complicates things.
2. Dwight McGlothern | CB
McGlothern enters Year No. 3 in the NFL and with the Vikings. He’s played 50 defensive snaps since 2024. He always floats around the CB4 or CB5 section of the depth chart, and the summer of 2026 is no different.
This offseason, the Vikings signed veteran corner James Pierre and drafted rookie Charles Demmings from Stephen F. Austin. As it stands, McGlothern is the presumptive CB5 at training camp, and it’s unclear if Minnesota will keep more than four cornerbacks on the September roster.
The saving grace is that McGlothern would likely head back to the practice squad if he gets cut next month. For now, he’s the main cornerback on the roster bubble. There’s a case for Zemaiah Vaughn, too.
3. Ivan Pace Jr. | LB
Pace Jr. had a bad week. He didn’t do anything wrong, but the guy had a bad week.
Out of nowhere, Teasley dialed up his connection to the Seattle Seahawks days by signing safety-turned-linebacker Jamal Adams. The contract is a veteran-minimum arrangement, but based on early returns, Teasley and defensive coordinator Brian Flores are stoked about Adams’s upside in the 2026 defense.
That puts Pace Jr. in a precarious spot. Three off-ball linebackers are guaranteed to make the active roster: Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and Jake Golday. Adams is not a lock, though he probably didn’t sign with the Vikings only to be dropped four weeks later.
With Flores in charge, Minnesota usually has four inside linebackers on the 53-man depth chart. That threshold might need to expand to five for Pace Jr. to escape a roster cut.
The Vikings would gain $3.5 million by dropping Pace Jr. and incur no dead cap penalty.
4. Walter Rouse | OT
Minnesota employs two foundational offensive tackles: Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Nobody is taking their jobs. Then, the franchise acquired veteran Ryan Van Demark from the Buffalo Bills and drafted Northwestern’s Caleb Tiernan in Round 3. That tentatively places Rouse around OT5, and like ILB and CB, it’s unclear if five OTs are needed.
Rouse, in theory, could slide over to guard, but that hasn’t physically happened. Minnesota could stand to welcome some guard depth.
Otherwise, if Rouse is a one-trick pony at tackle, he’ll need head coach Kevin O’Connell to prefer an OT room five players deep.
5. Zavier Scott | RB
Scott broke through to the regular season roster for the first time in 2025, playing 105 snaps on offense and 149 on special teams. Of all men on the list, he might be the safest for a September patch-through.
But the fact remains that Minnesota drafted Demond Claiborne in April, and he’s virtually guaranteed to be part of the 2026 offensive game plan. The Vikings also drafted fullback Max Bredeson to replace C.J. Ham, so Scott will need his employer to keep five RBs and FBs:
- Aaron Jones
- Jordan Mason
- Demon Claiborne
- Max Bredeson
- Zavier Scott
If O’Connell only needs four, Scott could be the odd man out.
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VikesNow Verdict: None of these five players is doomed, but roster math can become ruthless quickly. Hekker and Pace have the biggest names, while McGlothern, Rouse, and Scott may simply need Minnesota to keep an extra player at their respective positions.
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