The Vikings are running out of time to sort out the edges of their roster, and Friday’s preseason finale against the Broncos may do a lot of the deciding.
With the cutdown deadline set for Sunday, Minnesota has only one more exhibition game to sort through the final 53-man roster and start lining up its depth chart for the 2026 regular-season opener against the Packers. That leaves a few players with one last shot to leave a mark in front of Kevin O’Connell’s staff.
Caleb Banks is one of them. Minnesota used a first-round pick on him in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he has not delivered much through the team’s first two preseason games.
After both outings, Banks has pointed to things he needs to clean up, yet he still hasn’t shown the kind of upside that made him such a tempting pick for the Purple and Gold. If he doesn’t show more against Denver, he’ll likely head into the season as a backup or rotational piece - a status that would only add to the criticism that his selection at No. 18 overall was a reach.
J.J. McCarthy is under even more pressure.
No one on the roster draws more skepticism, and even the people still backing him have plenty to be concerned about after what he’s shown since being drafted No. 10 overall in 2024. He has already dropped the starting job to Kyler Murray, and even the backup spot is no sure thing with Carson Wentz in the picture.
Through two preseason games, McCarthy has put up offense and passing grades of 45.4 and 47.0 on Pro Football Focus, while completing just 9 of 17 passes for 115 yards. Another rough night against Denver could force Minnesota to rethink where he fits in its long-term plans.
Ivan Pace Jr. is also staring at an uncertain finish to camp. He lost his starting role to Eric Wilson last season, and Wilson is back this year to line up with Blake Cashman as the interior linebackers in Brian Flores’s defense.
That leaves Pace battling, at best, for a reserve job. He’ll have to outplay either rookie second-round pick Jake Golday or the fast-rising Jacob Roberts to make the 53-man roster, and his one-year, $3.5 million deal with no guaranteed money doesn’t exactly make him feel safe.
In Other News...
Vikings Camp Already Has An Uncomfortable Caleb Banks Problem
Training camp is supposed to be the first clean look at a new era, but Caleb Banks has already become an early source of discomfort for the Vikings. According to NFL insider Tony Pauline, people inside the organization say the regime led by general manager Nolan Teasley is frustrated with how the first-round pick has looked so far, and the temperature around the selection is already rising before the preseason has really begun.
The bigger issue may be what the pick says about the transition from one front office to the next. There is a sense, per the report, that some in the building question whether Banks belonged at No. 18, and the departure of former executives tied to the decision has only sharpened the internal divide. For a team trying to establish a new direction, the Banks situation is becoming a very early test of how much patience this regime will have with a pick it did not make. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Flores Is Asking Young Vikings Defenders To Do A Lot
During the Vikings preseason game against the Ravens, nose tackle Domonique Orange gave a glimpse of just how wide Brian Flores defensive menu can get. Orange dropped into coverage and broke up a pass, a small preseason moment that still said plenty about the demands being placed on Minnesotas younger defenders as they try to get comfortable in a scheme built around movement, disguise and versatility.
Flores said he did not call that particular play, but he was quick to point to Oranges athleticism and to the larger challenge facing the group. With other coaches handling some of the play-calling in the game, the Vikings used the preseason to stretch young players in ways that can be hard to absorb on the fly, especially when the defense is asking linemen and backups to do more than the usual job description. [Read more 🡒]
Everson Griffens Latest Incident Clouds Any Vikings Comeback Hope
Everson Griffens name surfaced again in Minnesota on Wednesday morning, and not for anything involving a football field. The former Vikings defensive end was arrested by Minnesota State Patrol and booked into Hennepin County jail on allegations of failing to comply and violating a restraining order, then was released later in the day.
For a player once so closely tied to one of the most passionate eras in recent Vikings history, the latest incident adds another difficult chapter to a stretch that has included multiple arrests since 2023. It also comes only months after a July arrest tied to a probation violation connected to a DWI, making any talk of a possible return to the franchise feel more remote by the day. [Read more 🡒]