Monday Open Thread: October 1 Youth Kyle Rudolph Jersey , 2018 Merry Monday, I made the best of my Sunday with nothing locked into the schedule, I missed watching the Vikes, but I got a lot of outside work done. We’re in winterizing mode here in North Dakota, so it’s time to bring out the snowblower up for its annual oil change and whatever else needs to be adjusted or replaced. The snow will be here soon, I don’t like to be caught off-guard. I mowed the lawn, and I don’t see more than one more being necessary for 2018.I’m sure you’ve all seen the statement that Everson Griffen released late last week. If not, it’ll be linked below. It’s very encouraging to see that whatever issue he has is being addressed, and it sounds like he’ll be back, both as a football player and as a person. I think that the team handled this extremely well, respecting Griffen’s privacy while showing genuine concern for him. Hats off to the Vikings front office, and especially to Mike Zimmer. You can see the amount of care he has for his players, and that it’s genuine. He’s been through some rough times in life, having lost his wife, and walking through those types of trials will definitely alter one’s perspective and help to get priorities in the correct order. Let’s hope this bit of news will help the team’s defense to get back on track. They’ve not played like the dominant defense they can be. Coverage has been sub-par, and it’s not just a player or two who is struggling, it’s the entire unit, which tells me it’s either schematic (which I doubt, there’s no scheme telling Rhodes to hold on to receivers) or something that’s mentally taking them off of their game. Maybe this will be what it takes to give them the lift they need. We’ll see on Sunday.Around the DN since our last open thread:Dan Persons shared the statement that Everson Griffen released via the Vikings.Quite a few Vikings team records are in danger of being broken by Cousins and Thielen, per Chris.Chris has the Stock Market Report: Rams.TCO Stadium hosted its first high school football game, per a fanpost from Chris.Vikings news from other sources and news from around the league:Catch up on all the week four scores and highlights, courtesy of NFL.com.From Vikings.com, hear Mike Zimmer address the media after Thursday’s game, also see Kirk Cousins’ media address, and there’s lots of other traffic to view in the media vault.From NFL.com, Earl Thomas suffered a leg fracture yesterday. This is an illustration of why I have no problem with players wanting to get paid or lock in some long-term guaranteed money. Thomas wanted a long deal, didn’t get one, now his career could be over. These guys are always potentially one play away from being forced into retirement, better get paid while you can.We come to our media selection:At 1-2-1, I’m guessing lots of Vikings fans are taking the approach suggested by the legend, Merle Haggard. This is one of my favorite singers of all-time, I got to see him live in Tacoma Washington in 1995, and I vaguely recall parts of that evening. Enjoy!Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:No discussion of politics or religionNo feeding of the trollsThis isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the doorKeep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tagsNo pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employerIf you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go awayWhile navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasmWith that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up and tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waitress, and try the head cheese.One More Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection By this time tomorrow, the Minnesota Vikings’ 53-man roster will officially be set. The deadline for the team to trim the roster from 90. . .or, effectively, 88, given the suspensions of Cayleb Jones and Kentrell Brothers. . .is 3:00 PM Central on Saturday. We’ll be keeping track of all the moves the team makes between now and then.We’ve had a couple of 53-man roster projections from some of our other writers, and I wanted to take a stab at one myself because hey. . .why not, right? The Vikings have a ton of talent, and it’s going to be interesting to see what they do with it all, so I’ll go ahead and give it my best shot.Special Teams (3)Kicker (1)Daniel CarlsonPunter (1)Ryan QuigleyLong Snapper (1)Kevin McDermottNailed it! Moving on.(Now watch the Vikings go after a different punter just to spite me. Ah, well. . .if it happens, it happens.)Offense (25 + 1)Quarterback (3)In - Kirk Cousins (starter), Trevor Siemian, Kyle SloterOut - Peter PujalsThe only drama here. . .such as it is. . .is whether or not the team bites the bullet with Siemian and elevates Sloter to the backup position. The team did give up draft capital for Siemian to be Cousins’ primary backup, but he’s been pretty bad this preseason. I think that, given recent history, the Vikings would be more comfortable with three quarterbacks, so Siemian stays.Running Backs (4)In - Dalvin Cook (starter), Mike Boone, C.J. Ham, Latavius MurrayOut - Mack Brown, Kobe McCrary Womens Tom Compton Jersey , Luke McNitt, Roc ThomasThe battle for RB3 was supposed to come down to the final preseason game, but when Thomas left with an injury, Boone took over and appeared to solidify things. If the Vikings do roll with three running backs, I think Boone is pretty clearly the guy. Also, I know that C.J. Ham is technically the fullback here, but I don’t know how much the Vikings are going to use him in that role this season. John DeFilippo apparently loves him, though.Wide Receivers (5 + 1)In - Stefon Diggs (starter), Adam Thielen (starter), Laquon Treadwell, Kendall Wright, Brandon Zylstra, Cayleb Jones (starts season under suspension)Out - Jeff Badet, Chad Beebe, Stacy Coley, Tavarres King, Korey Robertson, Jake WienekeIn efforts to shore things up at other places, the Vikings might have to short themselves at wide receiver. I think they saw enough out of Zylstra in camp that they like that, despite his injury issues, he’s made a spot on the roster. Jones starts the season on the suspended list, but I don’t think it would hurt anyone’s feelings if they were to just outright cut him now and not even deal with it. If the Vikings do roster a sixth receiver, I think that Beebe has the inside track for the spot, but there are several solid practice squad candidates here.Tight ends (3)In - Kyle Rudolph (starter), Blake Bell, David MorganOut - Tyler Conklin, Tyler HoppesFor the second year in a row, I think that the Vikings are going to cut a tight end that they took a late round flyer on and wound up not showing much in camp. Last year it was Bucky Hodges, and this year it’s Tyler Conklin. I had high hopes for Conklin to be a complement to Rudolph in the pass game, but he just really hasn’t shown much this preseason. I don’t think they keep him over Bell, but I could end up being wrong on that. If they think enough of C.J. Ham as a potential H-back type, they could just go with Rudolph and Morgan and cut Bell, too, but I’d be pretty shocked by that.Offensive Line (10)In - Riley Reiff (starter), Brett Jones (starter), Pat Elflein (starter. . .technically), Cornelius Edison (starter while Elflein is out), Mike Remmers (starter), Rashod Hill (starter), Aviante Collins, Tom Compton, Danny Isidora, Brian O’NeillOut - Josh Andrews, Kareem Are, Colby Gossett, Kaleb Johnson, Dieugot Joseph, Storm Norton, J.P. QuinnThe big question here is going to end up being what the Vikings do with Pat Elflein. Mike Zimmer said that he didn’t expect Elflein to start on the PUP List, but the team hasn’t made a move to take him off there yet, and if they don’t do so before the roster deadline then Elflein is out for the first six games. I’m not sure how the interior is going to look without Elflein there. Cornelius Edison didn’t play in the preseason finale, which would seem to point to him being the starter. Isidora got a long look at center, and Jones could obviously fill that spot, too. The team is going to have to make sure they have bodies here, which is why they’re short at the wide receiver spot in my projection. Of the guys that I have making the team, I think that Compton is probably in the most danger of being left out.Defense (25 + 1)Defensive end (5)In - Everson Griffen (starter), Danielle Hunter (starter), Tashawn Bower, Brian Robison, Stephen WeatherlyOut - Jonathan WynnHonestly, the process of trying to cut players from this defense is just painful at every position. Weatherly and Bower have both had strong preseasons, and I’d have a hard time envisioning the team cutting Robison after what he did to commit to a return. Could one of these guys be trade bait? I guess they could be. . .but man, I just don’t know. I’m glad I’m not the person that has to make these decisions.Defensive tackle (4)In - Linval Joseph (starter) Womens Trae Waynes Jersey , Sheldon Richardson (starter), Jaleel Johnson, Ifeadi OdenigboOut - Curtis Cothran, Jalyn Holmes, David ParryAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Man, I don’t want to lose Jalyn Holmes or anything, but honestly Odenigbo has been good enough, both on the interior and on the edge this preseason, to merit inclusion on this roster. Odenigbo’s ability to play all the spots on the line gives him an advantage, too.Linebackers (5 + 1)In - Anthony Barr (starter), Ben Gedeon (starter in base), Eric Kendricks (starter), Reshard Cliett, Eric Wilson, Kentrell Brothers (starts season under suspension)Out - Garret Dooley, Devante Downs, Mike Needham, Brett Taylor, Antoine WilliamsThe last linebacker spot is going to be a three-way tussle between Cliett, Downs, and Williams, in my opinion. Out of those three, I think that Cliett has done the most to merit a spot. He could be a very good special teamer, and put up enough of a solid performance in the preseason finale to make him my favorite for LB5 as things stand right now. None of those three guys would surprise me as the final linebacker, though. Again, in order to shore up other spots, this is the one position on defense the Vikings can probably short themselves at a bit.Cornerbacks (7)In - Xavier Rhodes (starter), Trae Waynes (starter), Mackensie Alexander, Holton Hill, Mike Hughes, Terence Newman, Marcus SherelsOut - Craig James, Trevon Mathis, Horace Richardson, Jack TochoIs seven cornerbacks a lot? Sure it is. But, honestly. . .who do you cut here? I mean, I guess the obvious answer would be Hill if you thought he was a lock to get to the practice squad, but I’m honestly not sure that he is. As we’ve mentioned, both Alexander and Sherels have apparently been mentioned in trade talks, so that could always be an option. But man, this team has such an embarrassment of riches at this position that it’s difficult to definitively state who should be in or out. I guess Sherels would be a candidate, too, if the Vikings thought they could replace his return skills with someone at another position. But, you know, we all know better than to project Sherels to be cut at this point, don’t we?Safeties (4)In - Andrew Sendejo (starter), Harrison Smith (starter), Anthony Harris, George IlokaOut - Jayron Kearse, Tray MatthewsIloka’s versatility is another reason that the Vikings might be able to leave themselves a bit short at linebacker, since it appears that they’re using him as a sort of a linebacker/safety hybrid. Both Harris and Kearse have been very good special teams players in their Vikings’ careers, but if I have to pick one over the other, Harris is a relatively easy choice.So, those are my 53. Obviously I’m not projecting trades to acquire players (as opposed to shipping out someone for draft picks), and there are probably a couple of players that will make the 53 that are currently on other teams.Practice squad projection (Vikings cuts only)WR Chad BeebeTE Tyler ConklinLB Devante DownsOL Colby GossettDL Jalyn HolmesS Tray MatthewsOL Storm NortonRB Roc ThomasCB Jack TochoWR Jake WienekeLike the 53-man roster, I’m guessing that the practice squad won’t be exclusively guys that the Vikings cut. I think they could probably find a better OL prospect than Norton, to be honest.So, that’s my final 53-man roster projection, ladies and gentlemen. By this time tomorrow, we’ll see how close all of us are on these.