The Vikings left Saturday’s 3-13 preseason loss to the Ravens with more questions than answers, and a few players are suddenly staring at the wrong side of the roster bubble.
Minnesota still has time to clean things up. There’s one preseason game left, plus a handful of practices, before the regular-season opener against the Packers. But after what showed up in Week 2, the Vikings can’t afford to keep waiting for some of these issues to sort themselves out.
Michael Jurgens is one of the clearest examples. The Vikings spent a seventh-round pick on him in the 2024 NFL Draft and hoped the former Wake Forest blocker would become a useful piece. Instead, he turned in a rough outing against Baltimore, posting a 46.6 overall grade on Pro Football Focus while giving up two pressures on 37 snaps.
That kind of performance would be concerning on its own. It gets worse when you factor in the state of Minnesota’s center situation.
Jurgens is still sitting above Gavin Gerhardt and Delby Lemieux on the depth chart, but that hardly means he’s safe. And with starter Blake Brandel also struggling badly in practices, the Vikings may have no choice but to keep scanning the league for help at center or even explore a trade for someone who can force the issue up front.
Max Brosmer is in a similarly uneasy spot. Minnesota brought him in as a priority free-agent quarterback after the 2025 NFL Draft, and the hope was that the former University of Minnesota standout could develop into something more.
That hasn’t happened yet. Brosmer has appeared in six NFL games, attempted 71 passes, and still hasn’t thrown his first touchdown.
He does, however, have four interceptions.
Against the Ravens, he looked out of sorts again. The offensive line didn’t do him many favors, but Brosmer still struggled to handle Baltimore’s third- and fourth-string defenders and finished the night with an interception near the end of the game.
Silas Walters picks off Max Brosmer for the @Ravens INTStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8WXVwIDnER
At this point, Brosmer looks like a likely cut candidate, with the practice squad the next thing for Minnesota to consider.
Then there’s Caleb Banks, the first-round pick who already drew plenty of attention when the Vikings took him at No. 18 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Plenty of analysts saw the selection as a reach, and the foot injury concerns around him only added to the skepticism.
Two preseason games in, the early returns haven’t done much to quiet that noise. Banks has been underwhelming against both the Giants and Ravens, and the numbers are ugly: a 33.7 overall PFF grade and a 29.7 run defense grade. It’s still the preseason, and it’s a tiny sample, but the concern is real.
Banks is saying the right things, and he appears to understand what he needs to improve. Even so, until he shows he’s ready for the NFL, the Vikings may need to start thinking about other options to open the season in Brian Flores’s defense.
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Vikings Still Have A Backup QB Problem After J.J. McCarthy Exit
J.J. McCarthys preseason debut for Minnesota was supposed to be a longer audition, but it ended early against the Baltimore Ravens after an undisclosed injury forced him out of the game. Before leaving, he had completed 5 of 10 passes for 81 yards, and Kevin OConnell said McCarthy was slated to play more before the injury limited his night. McCarthy has described the issue as minor and not something he expects to affect his availability.
Even so, the Vikings are still sorting through their quarterback depth chart, and McCarthys brief appearance only adds another layer to a competition that remains unsettled. With Kyler Murray entrenched as the starter, the backup spot is still very much open, and Minnesota now has to balance McCarthys recovery with whatever evaluation time remains in the preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Former Vikings Coach Is Creating A Concern Minnesota Knows Too Well
Chris Kuper is wasting no time making an impression in Philadelphia. The former Vikings offensive line coach has taken over the Eagles room, and early preseason work has already pointed to encouraging signs from a group of backup linemen who have looked more organized under his direction.
For Minnesota, that kind of development brings back a familiar concern. The Vikings know how much a coach can shape the trenches, and Kuper now has a chance to prove himself in a new setting while his old team watches another familiar face try to build a line into a strength. The real answer will come with time, but Philadelphias early returns at least suggest the transition is off to a promising start. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Offense Is Giving Fans A Debate They Did Not Want
Two preseason games in, the Vikings have already given their fans an uncomfortable conversation to have. The first loss came with the offense looking out of sync across the board, as young quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer both struggled to find much traction, while the running game has not offered much relief either.
There has even been unease in 7-on-7 work with Kyler Murray, adding another layer to an offense that has not yet settled into a rhythm. Minnesotas ground attack is averaging less than four yards per carry with no touchdowns through two games, and for a team trying to sort out its identity before the games count, the questions are piling up faster than the answers. [Read more 🡒]