Training camp is just around the corner, so football will also return soon. The Vikings rookies arrive Sunday, the veterans two days later on the 25th. The team travels to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Aug. 10 for the first preseason contest of the season, exactly one month before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Minnesota for the Week 1 game.
Vikings try out 9 players
With the release of cornerback John Reid a few days ago, the Vikings have two open roster spots. An exception to the rule creates the second opening. Defensive lineman Junior Aho does not count on the 90-man roster as he is a member of the international pathway program, a program that is supposed to increase the chances of international players making it in the NFL.
According to Aaron WilsonThe Vikings tried out nine players:
- OT Bobby Evans
- OT Jack Snyder
- AND Travis Sinclair
- Rashaad Coward
- C Sean Harlow
- TE Sal Kanel
- TE Colin Thompson
- WR David Moore
- QB Reece Udinski
Bobby Evans is the most recognizable name. He was a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 and remained with the team until he was released shortly before the end of the 2022 regular season. The Vikings signed him to the practice squad. He has been a free agent since the Vikings ended their season. Still only 26, Evans could be an exciting depth player with some upside as a former third-rounder familiar with Kevin O’Connell. He has appeared in 35 NFL games and started 12 for the Rams and has recorded over 1,000 career snaps.
Jack Snyder has somehow managed to play in 57 games at San Diego State, starting 52. He spent some time with the Rams in 2022 without playing in an NFL game, then joined the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2023.
Guard Travis Sinclair played his college ball at Bethel University and was invited to the Vikings rookie minicamp. He is an undrafted rookie and a native of Rogers, Minnesota.
Rashaad Coward is an experienced player. The 28-year-old entered the league as an UDFA in 2017 with the Bears, where he spent the first four years of his career. He later had shorter stints with the Steelers, Jaguars, Falcons and Cardinals, appearing in 38 NFL games, including 18 starts and well over 1,000 snaps on offense.
A fourth-round pick of the Falcons in 2017, Sean Harlow was released in 2018, signed in Indianapolis to join the Colts’ practice squad and returned to Atlanta a month later. He was with the Cardinals in 2021 and 2022. The 28-year-old appeared in 33 career games, including eight starts.
Tight end Sal Cannella played in three different minor leagues, the TSL, USFL and XFL. He became an XFL champion with the Arlington Renegades in 2023 and earned All-USFL honors in the USFl in 2022. He spent a few weeks on the Packers roster during last year’s training camp and four days with Miami in 2021, but he couldn’t keep his job for long. In the XFL, Cannella was second among tight ends in receiving yards (415) and led his team in the same category.
Colin Thompson was drafted by the Giants, Bears and Panthers in his career and played in the AAF and XFL. Now at age 29, he recorded his only career catch in the NFL in 2020 for seven yards.
Wideout David Moore is 28 and also a veteran, having been a part of the Seahawks from 2017-2020, the Panthers, Raiders, Broncos and Packers all in 2021, the Bears in 2022 and the Buccaneers in 2023. He recorded his 1,163 touchdowns and 13 yards.
Quarterback Udinski started his college career at VMI in the FCS, transferred to Maryland after four seasons where he barely saw the field, and played his final season at Richmond. He went undrafted in this year’s draft.
There are some veterans mixed in and some younger players. They are all fighting for their careers and receiving an invite to the Vikings training camp would certainly be a big step for them. News of new signings to fill out the roster should drop in the coming days.
Janik Eckardt is a soccer fan who likes numbers and statistics. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking football encyclopedia, loves to watch sitcoms and classic rock is his favorite music genre. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt