EAGAN, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings open the 2023 NFL regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
There will be plenty of familiar faces on offense and special teams, where 11 of the projected 14 starters were originally acquired during the tenure of former general manager Rick Spielman. But the defense has been entirely revamped; roughly 75% of the players projected to make the final roster can be traced to new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection for the Vikings:
QUARTERBACK (3): Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall
Cousins has missed only two games in his career as a starter, and ideally the Vikings could get away with only two quarterbacks on their active roster. Hall didn't flash during the preseason in a way that would make the team overly worried about losing him via waivers en route to the practice squad. But the Vikings might be too invested in him at this point to risk it.
RUNNING BACK (4): Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride
Nwangwu's camp-long, undisclosed injury has complicated this situation somewhat. McBride could probably get through waivers and onto the practice squad, but he -- or someone acquired via waivers -- is probably necessary to provide depth behind Mattison and Chandler. It's not yet clear if Nwangwu will be ready for the season, and he really hasn't had any chance to demonstrate whether he should be part of the backfield rotation.
FULLBACK (1): C.J. Ham
There is no chance Ham will be released following the decision to give him $3.3 million in guarantees for this season, and the Vikings spent camp looking for additional ways to get him on the field on offense.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell
Powell had an excellent training camp, picking up the offense quickly and also looking competent in punt return opportunities, and would beat out Jalen Reagor in this scenario. The wild card is whether Nailor will be in position to play in Week 1 if needed; he missed nearly a month of practice this summer because of a leg injury.
TIGHT END (3): T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt
Hockenson's inactivity for most of training camp -- his equilibrium was affected by an ear infection, he said -- might make it necessary to have a fourth tight end available for game day. But the guess here is that Nick Muse would pass through waivers and onto the practice squad if the Vikings choose to go in that direction.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill, Oli Udoh, Blake Brandel, Austin Schlottmann, Vederian Lowe
Last season the Vikings needed every bit of their depth to deal with a series of injuries to Bradbury, Darrisaw and O'Neill. Udoh is the presumed swing tackle, despite some struggles in preseason games, unless the Vikings can find an upgrade on the waiver wire.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Dean Lowry, Khyiris Tonga, Harrison Phillips, Jaquelin Roy, Jonathan Bullard
This is a veteran-heavy group, and the final decision here is hinged on coach Kevin O'Connell's consistent praise of Bullard over the past two years as a reliable piece. But it would probably mean waiving 2022 draft choice Esezi Otomewo, who would be a practice squad candidate.
LINEBACKER (8): Marcus Davenport, Danielle Hunter, Brian Asamoah II, Jordan Hicks, Ivan Pace Jr., Troy Reeder, D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II,
Pace has been one of the stars of training camp and has actually pushed Asamoah for a role with the first team. Another undrafted rookie is a candidate here as well; Andre Carter II secured a big guarantee to sign with the Vikings, but he hasn't shown much in camp or in preseason games.
CORNERBACK (6): Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon, Andrew Booth Jr., Joejuan Williams, NaJee Thompson
Before injuring his shoulder, Blackmon had worked his way into the first-team nickel rotation. When healthy he'll have a significant role. Thompson would make the team as a special teams ace.
SAFETY (6): Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Lewis Cine, Jay Ward, Theo Jackson
The Vikings truly had six safeties in camp who looked like they can play. Cine's late-camp injury, and the performance of both Ward and Jackson, leaves them with all six on the active roster.
SPECIAL TEAMS (3): Greg Joseph, Ryan Wright, Andrew DePaola
There was never much doubt about this trio. The Vikings had undrafted rookie place-kicker Jack Podlesny in camp, but he never really challenged Joseph and didn't appear in a preseason game.