Roster cuts recap: Vikings cut running back Kene Nwangwu, first-round pick Lewis Cine

It was roster cutdown day in the NFL as the Vikings and the rest of the teams in the league trimmed their rosters to 53 players Tuesday.

Here’s how the day played out:

Safety Lewis Cine, the Vikings’ first-round draft pick in 2022, was among the players cut Tuesday as the team reduced its roster to 53 players.

Sources said through the day the Vikings had been trying to trade Cine, which would have saved them $1.75 million in salary cap space, and that several teams had expressed interest at one point or another. No deal materialized, however, and the Vikings chose to absorb Cine’s fully-guaranteed 2025 base salary of $2.272 million as dead money in 2024.

Also among the notable cuts were tight end Robert Tonyan, cornerback Duke Shelley and defensive lineman Jonah Williams, all signed in recent months as free agents.

See the Vikings’ full 53-man roster

The Vikings plan to waive defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy if he is not traded before this afternoon’s deadline, a source said. Roy, the 2023 fifth-round pick out of LSU, was in a crowded room as coaches praised the development of newcomers like rookie Levi Drake Rodriguez. The Vikings also signed veterans Jerry Tillery and Jonah Williams this offseason.

The Vikings will waive their two leading sack artists from the preseason in outside linebackers Andre Carter II and Bo Richter, sources said; each had two sacks in three preseason appearances. A source added that the Vikings hope to re-sign Richter, undrafted out of Air Force, to the practice squad on Wednesday.

Veteran defensive back Bobby McCain, one of Brian Flores’ former Dolphins players who signed with the team in the middle of training camp, is also expected to be released.

The Vikings will also waive guard Tyrese Robinson, a second-year blocker who spent last season on the practice squad.

Though Kene Nwangwu was a second-team All-Pro as a kick returner in 2022, it appears he won’t continue to return kicks for the Vikings in 2024.

The team informed Nwangwu it plans to release him if it can’t trade him before the NFL’s 3 p.m. roster cut deadline, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The Vikings had tried to build a bigger role for Nwangwu as a running back this season, but the 26-year-old had always struggled to find a role in their offense, and had not returned a kickoff in any of the team’s preseason games.

The departures of Nwangwu, a fourth-round pick in 2021, and Myles Gaskin mean the Vikings have just two running backs on their roster (Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler), along with fullback C.J. Ham. The Vikings could look to add running back depth after final roster cuts today.

The Vikings are releasing defensive tackle James Lynch, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Lynch, a fourth-round pick in 2020, seemed to face long odds to make the Vikings’ roster in his fifth season. He’d returned from a torn ACL he suffered in training camp last year, but the emergence of two rookies — seventh-round pick Levi Drake Rodriguez and undrafted free agent Taki Taimani — appeared to put Lynch’s roster spot in jeopardy.

If Lynch clears waivers, he could return to the Vikings’ practice squad.

The Vikings plan to release veteran running back Myles Gaskin, a source said, before Tuesday’s deadline. Gaskin, 27, spent most of camp as the team’s fourth running back behind Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu.

Released players can officially join the practice squad on Wednesday afternoon; up to 17 players can be signed, including 10 rookies or second-year players, six veterans (no experience limits), and one spot for a qualifying international player.

Despite promising progress on his way back from a torn ACL, T.J. Hockenson won’t be on the field for the Vikings to start the season.

The Vikings plan to keep Hockenson on the physically-unable-to-perform list to start the 2024 season, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. He had been on the PUP list through training camp, after rehabbing from knee surgery that had to wait until the end of January while Hockenson’s torn MCL healed on its own. Though the tight end had progressed to running on the field during training camp, he has yet to practice with the team, so he seemed likely to remain on the PUP list as the Vikings cut their roster down to 53 players Tuesday for the start of the regular season.

Hockenson will miss at least the first four games of the season, meaning the first game he could play is the Vikings’ Oct. 6 matchup with the Jets in London. The team has a bye after that game, meaning the earliest Hockenson could return to U.S. Bank Stadium is Oct. 20, when the Vikings face the Lions in Minnesota for the first time since the Dec. 24 game where Hockenson tore his ACL against his old team on a hit from Detroit safety Kerby Joseph.

The Vikings also plan to put pass rusher Gabriel Murphy on short-term injured reserve to start the season, a source said. Teams can designate two players for short-term IR during final roster cuts, keeping them out for a minimum of four games. Murphy, the undrafted free agent who’d shown promise this offseason, missed most of Vikings camp with an undisclosed injury. He could also return for the Jets game on Oct. 6.

Guard Dalton Risner is expected to be the other player placed on short-term IR. He has missed most of camp and the preseason due to a back injury.