Every NFL team will be forced to trim its roster from 90 to 53 players by 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, and the Vikings will have some tough decisions to make. Every year there's at least one surprise cut, and 2026 likely won't be any different.

With that in mind, here are three potential cuts that might raise some eyebrows but aren't totally out of the realm of possibility.

1. J.J. McCarthy, QB

While moving on from J.J. McCarthy wouldn't necessarily be a huge surprise given how his preseason has gone, a straight-up cut over a potential trade would be a bit jarring, considering two weeks ago he was supposedly competing to start for the Vikings.

After another poor performance against the Ravens and a sprained ankle in this week's edition of "What did J.J. injure this time?", the door for McCarthy's potential exit has now swung fully open. The former 10th overall pick was never given much of a chance in Minnesota, but after essentially now losing the No. 2 job to Carson Wentz, he may ask for a fresh start elsewhere. From the Vikings' perspective, they'd probably ideally like to keep a young quarterback familiar with the playbook on the roster, but if the optics and awkward cafeteria stares are too much of a distraction, they may agree it's best to part ways.

While a trade would be the best-case scenario if the McCarthy experiment comes to a close, the market just may not be there for a quarterback that failed to succeed with star wideout Justin Jefferson and head coach Kevin O'Connell. McCarthy is completing less than 60% of his passes with no touchdowns this preseason, and hasn't done much to show the Vikings, or any other team, he can handle a QB1 or even QB2 role this season.

2. Demond Claiborne, RB

While the Vikings' running back room isn't especially deep, there is a world where they keep Zavier Scott as RB3 and hope to slip Claiborne through waivers as quickly as his 40-yard dash time. The speedster Claiborne has looked solid in camp, but that success hasn't translated to the real world, where he's averaged just 2.6 yards per carry in the preseason.

Internally, the Vikings are high on Claiborne, but his play in the preseason hasn't shown he's ready to be a significant contributor if called upon. Meanwhile, Scott is a true third-down back. He can catch, pass protect well enough, and even offers special teams ability.

Claiborne is fast, of course, but his ball security issues, lack of pass protection ability, and sixth-round draft selection make him a potential surprise cut candidate. Would the Vikings risk him getting scooped up by another team, though? Realistically not, and it's probably why his spot is safe despite some subpar play. Still, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to see the team take that gamble.

3. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, DL

Last year's fifth-rounder is still trying to find a way to carve out a role in Minnesota.

After playing inside last season, the Vikings are experimenting with Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins on the outside this year to limited initial success. So far this preseason, he's only recorded four pressures and two tackles with an abysmal 36.8 Pro Football Focus grade. The Vikings are the exact opposite of deep at edge rusher, but could they move on from Ingram-Dawkins anyway?

Almost every fan and analyst in the state agrees Minnesota will make some sort of addition at edge before the start of the season.

The Vikings have two established starters in Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel, and an impressive rookie in Jake Golday. Still, it's clear the Vikings could use another seasoned veteran down the depth chart in case injuries rear their ugly heads. Ingram-Dawkins has been more a bit of a jack-of-all-trades and master of none this summer, and Minnesota may opt for someone with a pure edge background.

The Vikings likely won't move off the youngster so soon, but with Golday and the mystery veteran addition behind door number two, Ingram-Dawkins may find himself stuck in a tough spot.

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