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The Minnesota Vikings have their first practice on Wednesday afternoon and the discussion about the final roster spots will be a fascinating one.
There are a lot of players competing for only a few roster spots on the back end of the roster. Those will be some difficult decisions for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office to construct the 53-man roster.
As we try to project forward, we took a look at the 10 hardest cuts for the Viking.
1. WR Jalen Reagor
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2022/11/USATSI_19374488.jpg)
His performance in 2022 doesn’t warrant a roster spot this season, but a fully guaranteed $2.42 million salary for 2023 will make the decision difficult to cut him.
2. C Austin Schlottmann
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/01/USATSI_19678274.jpg)
Schlottmann broke his ankle in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers and it’s a difficult injury to come back from. With Chris Reed and Alan Ali gunning for him, Schlottmann becomes expendable.
3. DT James Lynch
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2021/11/a263c43b14cc447dba059f31dbe9554d.jpg)
Going into his fourth season, Lynch could easily lose his roster spot due to the young depth on the team.
4. DE Jonathan Bullard
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/06/USATSI_19184091.jpg)
Like Lynch, Bullard loses out to the talented young depth like Esezi Otomewo.
5. LB Troy Dye
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2021/08/28da4b9de4a1495ba13aa86d47b55abb.jpg)
The special teams maven doesn’t have enough potential to play every down on defense and it costs him a roster spot.
6. OLB D.J. Wonnum
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/06/USATSI_17251511.jpg)
A potential surprise on the list, Wonnum hasn’t been consistent enough on defense to be guaranteed a roster spot in 2023.
7. OLB Luiji Vilain
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/07/1242624692.jpg)
The only UDFA to make the roster in 2022, Vilain is up against some tough competition to make the roster in 2023.
8. CB Tay Gowan
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2022/11/USATSI_19165102.jpg)
Gowan has talent at cornerback, but it is in a tough group with a lot of capital invested ahead of him.
9. WR Trishton Jackson
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/06/USATSI_18754139.jpg)
After a really good camp last season, Jackson barely missed the team. He is likely going to be in the same position this season with a lot of competition.
10. K Jack Podlesny
![](https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2023/06/USATSI_19777184-1.jpg)
With a really good training camp, Podlesny is going to make the decision very difficult for Adofo-Mensah.