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The Vikings wrapped an extended work week with the Patriots Saturday in a 20-12 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium.

While the final score of a preseason game is the most visible aspect of the contest, there's often quite a bit of subtext for each game.

This past contest began with what Minnesota Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and New England Head Coach Mike Vrabel (happy 50^th birthday to him last Thursday, by the way) wanted to accomplish in two days of joint practices.

After those sessions, O'Connell opted to rest his entire first teams on the unofficial depth chart, plus another wave of players. Vrabel opted to start members of his first teams, including QB Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick of 2024, and defensive tackle Milton Williams, New England's prized addition during free agency.

Minnesota's reserves were able to hold their own, particularly on defense, but the offense was unable to move the ball early and was unable to capitalize on some nice opportunities late.

Now, the Vikings are preparing to close out their preseason slate by visiting the Titans at 7 p.m. (CT) Friday in a contest that will be broadcast nationally by CBS.

We also are less than a week away from the NFL's deadline for teams to reduce their rosters to 53 players (Aug 26 this year).

The Vikings are scheduled to practice today, tomorrow and Wednesday before traveling to Music City on Thursday.

Let's get to the questions.

After this weekend's tilt against the Patriots, we're down to the final preseason game. That means that roster cuts are coming. Which areas of the team look like the decisions as to who gets a coveted roster spot are going to be the hardest? Are there any of the late-round or undrafted free agents that have particularly impressed? It looks like the third-string quarterback spot might go down to the wire. So how soon after the final cut are the Vikings allowed to sign guys to the practice squad?

Hopefully last year's 14 wins weren't a fluke, and the Vikings slay their demons from the Lions and Rams double-double whammies. Keep that foot on the jugular until K.O. tells you the final whistle blew…

— David A. (From the North Shore but STILL stuck in the South)

A legit goal for an NFL personnel department each offseason could be to try to make the roster cuts day as difficult as possible by filling the locker room with quality players across multiple positions.

The Vikings coaching staff and personnel department collaborate in their evaluations to see which players are measuring up to projected abilities/impact within the offense or defense or special teams.

Vikings.com has tracked the number of players kept at each position since 2016 and included that information when the team announces its initial 53-player roster. While team needs and approaches have changed from year to year, the numbers provide a basic guideline for general roster construction.

As for late draft picks, defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (fifth round) and linebacker Kobe King (sixth round) started for the Vikings on Saturday and were involved early in the action. King had a nice pass breakup to force a punt on New England's first possession to go along with four tackles and one QB hit, and Ingram-Dawkins recorded a tackle for loss on a run play in the red zone and pushed the pocket.

Defensive lineman Elijah Williams, who joined the Vikings as an undrafted rookie out of Morgan State after trying out during rookie minicamp, recorded five tackles and drew the eyes of NFL analyst (and former vendor at Metropolitan Stadium!) Brian Baldinger.

Lastly, by nature of the position, QB Max Brosmer is the undrafted rookie who has generated the biggest buzz, which brings us back to roster numbers at the QB position. The Vikings have kept three QBs on their initial 53-man roster in each of the past two years.

In 2024, it was Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, but Minnesota swapped Brett Rypien for Hall (They invited him to sign to the practice squad, but he headed for Seattle's practice squad.) after Rypien was released by the Bears.

Fast-forward, and J.J. McCarthy is Minnesota's starter as he heads into his second pro season and first on the field. Sam Howell, Rypien and Brosmer round out the room. They've competed and helped each other and can have confidence in Minnesota's ability to evaluate the position.

Clubs will be able to designate up to two players for return if they are placed on a Reserve List the day of the final roster reduction, which could impact which players become available. Waivers/releases can start whenever but most won't occur until after teams conclude their preseason slates on Saturday.

The claiming period for any players placed on waivers at the roster reduction deadline will expire at 11 a.m. (CT) on Aug. 27. After the NFL office sends a leaguewide personnel notice, clubs may begin establishing practice squads of 16 or 17 (if one is an International Player Pathway).

So much changes every year with every team, but the Vikings were able to maintain high continuity among their coaches. There also has been substantial roster retention, as well as adding players to improve the outcomes of those losses to Detroit and the L.A. Rams last season. A tough schedule awaits, but it should be fun to watch how the Vikings compete this season.

How do they decide what these practices look like and what do they hope to accomplish? Does K.O. sit down with the opposing HC and make those decisions ahead of time? I would assume there are a few hard & fast rules such as not touching the QB. Can you give any more details on how these sessions are laid out?

— Bruce in Gilbert, Arizona

Often there's a pre-existing relationship between coaches, or front offices, or both, of respective teams. O'Connell and Vrabel go way back to first becoming teammates in 2008.

K.O. mentioned Vrabel will always be one of his first phone calls when trying to schedule joint practices. They also have prior experience from 2023 when Vrabel was in Tennessee and the Titans visited for joint sessions.

The coaches spend a good amount of time on the phone figuring out how the sessions can benefit each team and if there are modifications/compromises that might need to be resolved from how a team usually handles its daily schedule. Instead of practice starting at 2:30 like most days of Vikings camp, the joint sessions began at noon.

There also was good dialogue on what scenarios would be worked through. The teams did a considerable amount of work in second-and-long situations, particularly on Wednesday, as well as spent ample time in the red zone on Thursday.

I feel SO bad for Rondale Moore!! I'm assuming that once he can move around the team will have him hang around the facility for rehab and he'll get to see his teammates, but from your inside knowledge do you think the guys will make an effort to include him in social gatherings or events so he doesn't feel totally out of things? Or will he go to another state that is home?

— Rebecca in Wisconsin

Moore had only been here for a few months, but he seemed to really be enjoying his time. It felt like everyone in the stadium (and beyond) felt horrible for a player who has been through so much in his college and pro career.

He posted about his personal determination, and ideally, he knows there are plenty of people in his corner as he attacks his latest injury-caused setback. The culture that Vikings players and coaches frequently reference — and the support from fans — can help during tough times.

Moore will be able to decide how he wants to approach things. I honestly haven't heard about his plans but sincerely wish him a full recovery.

I thought Howell and Brosmer looked better than McCarthy [in the preseason opener]! And that doesn't mean McCarthy looked bad.

— Jeff

This was sent between the first and second preseason games, but I thought it was worth circling back to.

McCarthy's sample size against the Texans was quite small (12 plays, with only seven passes attempted), but he made some nice things happen while extending his lone drive of the 2025 preseason to end with a field goal. He made the most of learning opportunities Wednesday and led a heater by Vikings QBs Thursday against the Patriots.

Howell played well against Houston but didn't have a repeat showing against New England. O'Connell said he wanted to make sure Rypien, who replaced Howell with 10 minutes in the second quarter after three Vikings possessions, was able to play in the game because he planned to have Brosmer play the entire second half.

Some players looked great against New England. Some not so much. Which QB will we keep for No. 3? Which player is less likely to be poached if we try to put him on the practice squad? Our defensive linemen competition will be tough to call. There really is a lot of talent. Did Myles Price solidify a spot with that kickoff return, or did he raise red flags with that dropped pass on the last drive? I am glad there are people that see the players on a daily basis that can make better decisions than us.

— Gerard Goblirsch

There's so many factors that go into player evaluation, but I do believe Minnesota's staff will consider multiple factors into authentically trying to build the best 53 with an emphasis on what the game-day roster looks like. At least in the back of my mind and probably yours is what it's like to try to figure out which players would be most likely to get poached by another team.

Minnesota's defensive line, as well as the outside linebackers, have some of the greatest depth of any training camp position group I have had the opportunity of seeing. Waves of players at those positions have really shown up in practices and games. I look forward to them making the most of their opportunity this week.

Price's day included an 81-yard kickoff return that was Minnesota's longest in a preseason game in eight years (shoutout Jerick McKinnon!), as well as punt returns of 20 and 13 yards. He was targeted four times and caught two passes for 11 yards but was unable to pull in a pass in the end zone late. He got one hand on it but didn't get the other arm to the ball. His energy and enthusiasm for football and returning punts — said it's his "favorite position in the world" — resounded during a locker room interview.

I'm a bit disgusted by this game. Between Fox local again not streaming into this area or the fact that down by 8, K.O. had to spend his time jockeying between answering questions from KFAN and coaching. One rule, you talk with the media "before and after" a game. Even watching the highlights, stunk. Someone threw the whole team under the bus, and I don't think it was from the coaching staff.

— Jerry Beck in Ohio

We post the "how to watch, stream and listen" stories each week to identify preseason affiliates, but those games are rarely shown live out-of-market on television. NFL + subscribers can watch live, or the Vikings Audio Network can be found.

The good news for you and others this week is CBS has a national broadcast of the game at Tennessee.

O'Connell, who normally calls offensive plays, was not doing so Saturday. He instead transferred those duties to Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips and graciously agreed to join the simulcast during the entire third quarter (for the second consecutive year). I thought it was tremendous to gain access to his inner monologue — a truly unique opportunity for him to say he likes what could happen on the upcoming play but react in real time to the team committing a penalty before the ball was snapped. The infraction erased an 18-yard gain that would have added to Price's stats and potentially generated momentum for a scoring drive instead of the possession ending with a backed-up punt. K.O. also let viewers know the team was about to have a good chance for a TD on a go ball that fell just out of reach of Jeshaun Jones. Seamlessly, he doled out coaching points to the young receiver at the end of the play.

I personally hope — and don't think I'm alone — that O'Connell continues to offer up his time in this capacity for at least one quarter in future preseasons.

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