The Vikings have cut defensive linemen Sheldon Day and Ross Blacklock, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
While neither move is particularly surprising, they're both notable for different reasons. Day is a journeyman veteran who was probably the Vikings' single most productive player during their three-game preseason slate. Blacklock was a top-40 draft pick in 2020 who was acquired a year ago in a low-cost trade with the Texans. Either player could potentially end up on Minnesota's practice squad.
Like fellow journeyman defensive tackle T.Y. McGill Jr. last year, a highly impressive preseason performance wasn't enough to get Day onto the 53-man roster. The 29-year-old Notre Dame product was the Vikings' highest-graded player in August (by PFF), earning a remarkable 90.6 mark on 97 defensive snaps. He had a strip-sack against the Titans in the second game and finished the preseason with six pressures, six tackles, and a batted pass.
The Vikings were Day's fifth team since being drafted in the fourth round in 2016. He's been a consistent preseason standout in his career but has been mostly average in the regular season, maxing out at 325 snaps with the 49ers in 2019. Still, Day has appeared in 70 career games (regular season and playoffs) and may end up getting a look from another team soon. If not, the Vikings would presumably love to have him around as extra depth on their practice squad.
Blacklock has struggled to make his mark in the NFL since being taken in the second round out of TCU three years ago. He showed a little pass rush juice but not much else during two seasons with the Texans, who traded him and a seventh-round pick to the Vikings for a sixth-rounder this time last year. In 2022, Blacklock played just 139 defensive snaps for Minnesota and was largely ineffective.
He came away with a sack in the Vikings' preseason finale, but Blacklock's overall 50.5 PFF grade in three games was unremarkable. A dynamic athlete who just turned 25 this summer, he should get another opportunity in the NFL, whether it's on the Vikings' practice squad or elsewhere.
Eight defensive linemen remain on the Vikings' roster at this moment: Harrison Phillips, Dean Lowry, Khyiris Tonga, Jonathan Bullard, Jaquelin Roy, Esezi Otomewo, T.J. Smith, and Junior Aho. The team will likely keep between four and six on the initial 53-man roster, which must be set by 3 p.m. central time on Tuesday.
It's going to be a busy day of roster moves across the NFL.
Read: A Final Minnesota Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection
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