Predicting the Vikings 53-man roster

EAGAN (FOX 9) - The reality will hit that an NFL dream might be over for up to 37 players after the Minnesota Vikings play Buffalo in their final preseason game Thursday night.

The Vikings have to cut their roster from 90 to 53 this weekend, with a few exceptions. David Morgan is on the physically unable to perform list, and Tashawn Bower is on the non-football injury list. Holton Hill is suspended eight games to start the season due to two failed drug tests.

That said, roster cuts are coming. It's the end of the road for some rookies who have been with the Vikings since mini camp, after the April NFL Draft. A few veterans could be out of jobs as well, as the coaching staff and front office ponders who to keep, who to put on the practice squad and who they might pluck from other teams that were released.

The Vikings, among other things, have to decide how many players they want to keep at each position. Do they want three quarterbacks? How far will they go with depth in the secondary? How many from the 2019 draft class will make the roster? Can they afford to risk releasing a player to get them on the practice squad? What do they want out of their specialists? Will a player do enough Thursday night to solidify a roster spot?

There are all kinds of questions to be answered before cuts are made.

Here's a look at what the 53-man roster might look like, come Sunday. The Vikings can keep 10 players in their practice squad, if another team doesn't sign them.

Quarterbacks – Kirk Cousins, Sean Mannion, Kyle Sloter

Running backs – Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Mike Boone, Ameer Abdullah; CJ Ham

Wide receivers – Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Chad Beebe, Bisi Johnson, Brandon Zylstra, Laquon Treadwell

Tight ends – Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin

Offensive line – Garrett Bradbury, Brett Jones, Pat Elflein, Josh Kline, Dru Samia, Rashod Hill, Brian O'Neill, Riley Reiff, Danny Isidora

Specialists – Austin Cutting, Dan Bailey, Kaare Vedvik

Secondary – Mackensie Alexander, Kris Boyd, Mike Hughes, Xavier Rhodes, Duke Thomas, Trae Waynes, Anthony Harris, Jayron Kearse, Harrison Smith

Defensive line – Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Stephen Weatherly, Jalyn Holmes, Jaleel Johnson, Linval Joseph, Hercules Mata'afa, Shamar Stephen

Linebackers – Anthony Barr, Kentrell Brothers, Eric Kendricks, Ben Gedeon, Cameron Smith, Eric Wilson, Reshard Cliett