Minnesota Vikings: 5 Players the Vikings Shouldn't Have Cut

The Minnesota Vikings have trimmed the fat—so to speak—and have reached their 53-man roster limit, but out of those cuts, there are a few players who some feel shouldn't have been cut.

If you look at who they cut globally, there are a few aspects to the moves that suggest some insight as to what the Vikings value, and what they may still do in the coming days, which will be touched on later in this slide.

Either way, though, the Vikings are definitely planning to open the season far younger than they have been in the past, with a few remaining question marks that will not go unnoticed this season.

Let's take a look.

Heath Farwell

One of the "surprising" cuts the Vikings made was letting go special teams ace Heath Farwell, considering the Vikings did sign him for three-years at $7.75 million, with $3.25 million in guarantees.

There were no initial reports of underachieving here, but I speculate that either the Vikings were concerned over Farwell's torn ACL or looking to free up some cash.

Farwell put in five years of service in Minnesota and was a stellar special teamer and a quality bench-role player at linebacker.

Chris DeGeare

In an even more surprising move, the Vikings released expected starting right guard Chris DeGeare.

Through most of camp, the Vikings toyed with their offensive line in hopes of finding that right combination, and at the center of most of it was DeGeare, who seemingly did a good enough job to earn a possible starting gig.

Well, here we are.

DeGeare was a a fifth-round pick last year and started the Vikings' final five games at right guard after Anthony Herrera suffered a torn ACL. He filled in admirably, so this cut does come as a surprise.

The move baffles me since Herrera's recovery from surgery to his ACL and biceps hasn't gone smoothly, and despite some scouts saying DeGeare did little to establish himself as a starter, it still raises concerns since the Vikings O-line still remains a huge question mark.

Coming up is another reason why.

Ryan Cook

Ryan Cook rounds out the second player in the cuts department that is a little odd, to say the least.

Look, I will mention again that the notion is that both Cook and DeGeare didn't do much to establish themselves as starters, but neither player ever really had a solid position to focus on.

The other problem here is how exactly can the staff completely gauge both Cook and DeGeare with such little time, especially after raving about them earlier on in camp.

The offensive line was the biggest question mark on this team in camp, and now that question mark is even bigger after this cut.

Interestingly enough, Cook was just signed to a two-year contract earlier this month.

Starting to see a trend yet?

Tristian Davis

This move is more of a personal opinion than anything else, but i believe the Vikings made a bad move here and here's why.

Lorenzo Booker is not healthy, and the Vikings DO PLAN to deploy a full back this season. This means they need a little depth at the position, and Davis just seemed to fit the bill.

Davis ran 12 times for 72 yards, good for a 6.0 YPC.

But the other issue here is that he was let go AFTER fellow running back Caleb King, suggesting there is little chance Davis will be signed to the practice squad.

I suppose the Vikings staff saw something that I obviously did not here.

Ross Homan

I really thought that after a pretty good camp and a solid two-year report card coming out of Ohio State that Homan was going to make this team either in the capacity of a nickle-backer (remember I mentioned that) or either a special teams member.

Apparently, the Vikings coaching staff didn't share my sentiment.

Homan is sure to find work elsewhere, but it does come as a surprise for a team that now only has five linebackers.

Jaymar Johnson

Johnson was a fan favorite in camp, but couldn't seem to win a job as a starting return man or even a bench option at WR.

The problem here is that after the three starting receivers (Percy Harvin, Michael Jenkins and Bernard Berrian), the Vikings are left with Greg Camarillo and Devin Aromashodu as backups or filler players.

This again, a grander scheme points to a much larger picture.

What It All Means

The 53-man roster—after the sacking involved—includes three quarterbacks, three running backs, 10 offensive linemen, four tight ends, five wide receivers, nine defensive linemen, five linebackers, five safeties, six cornerbacks and three from the kicking unit.

If you factor in a few players who were either due money who were long-time veterans or both, you have two distinct possibilities.

1. The Vikings are placing a lot of emphasis on their nickel packages (as suggested with keeping six corners and five safeties)

2. The Vikings could be gearing up for a possible late-weekend waiver wire move with all the other cuts going on.

One aspect to all of this is very clear, however: The Vikings are comfortable with opening up the season a little younger than they have in the past, which could mean a high risk/high reward season for Minnesota and their faithful.

Hopefully, some of theses cuts were not made out of haste and wind up being the right moves.

I hope you guys enjoyed, and if you're looking for some fantasy football advice before Week 1, come check out my latest here!