The Vikings pared their roster down to 53 players on Friday, and the youth movement is officially on, as 12-year veteran QB Sage Rosenfels and CB Chris Carr (8-years in the league) were among the casualties.
Surprisingly, the team kept seven linebackers, where depth has been a concern, and retained only eight defensive lineman, even though theyplan to platoon them. Look for the Vikings’ remaking of their roster to continue as the personnel staff hits the waiver wire in the days ahead.
QB (3) -- Christian Ponder (2nd year, Florida State), Joe Webb (3rd year, Alabama-Birmingham), McLeod Bethel-Thompson (1st year, Sacramento State)
RB (3) -- Adrian Peterson (6th year, Oklahoma), Toby Gerhart (3rd year, Stanford), Matt Asiata (1st year, Utah)
FB (2) -- Jerome Felton (5th year, Furman)
WR (6) -- Percy Harvin (4th year, Florida State), Jerome Simpson (5th year, Coastal Carolina), Michael Jenkins (9th year, Ohio State), Devin Aromashodu (4th year, Auburn), Stephen Burton (2nd year, Utah), Jarius Wright (R, Arkansas)
TE (4) -- Kyle Rudolph (2nd year, Notre Dame), John Carlson (4th year, Notre Dame), Rhett Ellison (R, USC), Allen Reisner (2nd year, Iowa)
LT (1)-- Matt Kalil (R, USC)
LG (1) -- Charlie Johnson (7th year, Oklahoma State)
C (2) -- John Sullivan (5th year, Notre Dame), Joe Berger (7th year, Michigan Tech)
RG (2) -- Brandon Fusco (2nd year, Slippery Rock), Geoff Schwartz (3rd year, Oregon)
RT (2) -- Phil Loadholt (4th year, Oklahoma), Patrick Brown (3rd year, Central Florida)
RDE (2) -- Jared Allen (9th year, Idaho State), Everson Griffen (3rd year, USC)
LDE (2) -- Brian Robison (6th year, Texas), D'Aundre Reed (1st year, Arizona)
UT (2) -- Kevin Williams (10th year, Oklahoma State), Christian Ballard (2nd year, Iowa)
NT (2) -- Letroy Guion (5th year, Florida State), Fred Evans (6th year, Texas State)
MLB (3) -- Jasper Brinkley (3rd year, South Carolina), Audie Cole (R, N.C. State), Tyrone McKenzie (2nd year, South Florida)
OLB (4) -- Chad Greenway (6th year, Iowa), Erin Henderson (4th year, Maryland), Marvin Mitchell (6th year, Tennessee), Larry Dean (2nd year, Valdosta State)
LCB (3) -- Antoine Winfield (14th year, Ohio State), Brandon Burton (2nd year, Utah), Marcus Sherels (2nd year, Minnesota)
RCB (3) -– Chris Cook (3rd year, Virginia), Josh Robinson (R, Central Florida), Zack Bowman (4th year, Nebraska)
SS (2) -- Mistral Raymond (2nd year, South Florida), Robert Blanton (R, Notre Dame)
FS (3) -- Harrison Smith (R, Notre Dame), Jamarca Sanford (4th year, Mississippi), Andrew Sendejo (2nd year, Rice)
K (1) -- Blair Walsh (R, Georgia)
P/H (1) -- Chris Kluwe (8th year, UCLA)
LS (1) -- Cullen Loeffler (9th year, Texas)
Place on IR -- OL DeMarcus Love (1st year, Arkansas).
Note: WR Jerome Simpson (suspended) does not count against the 53-man roster until the third regular season game is complete.
For more Vikings news and notes, follow Joe Oberle on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLMIN.
