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Recent years have seen the Minnesota Vikings do terribly when identifying talent in the draft. An update from earlier today isn’t going to make things look any better.
Walter Rouse played offensive tackle in college before getting shifted inside to offensive guard when he turned pro. He’s now looking for work despite boasting versatility, youth, and size. Tom Pelissero offers the news: “The Vikings informed OT Walter Rouse they’re waiving him, per source.”
Vikings See Yet Another Draftee Set Free
After the 2024 NFL Draft, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah referred to Rouse as a “bully.” If that’s true, then Rouse will be bullying within the trenches for a different football team.
A major part of what makes Minnesota a tough nut to crack is that the OT position is pretty loaded. LT1 Christian Darrisaw can be elite when he’s healthy. RT1 Brian O’Neill is the epitome of longstanding competence. Could these two become the envy of most of the NFL under the tutelage of new OL coach Keith Carter? Minnesota hopes so.
Similarly of note is the presence of OT3 Ryan Van Demark and new draftee Caleb Tiernan. In fairness, Tiernan could get kicked inside, but that’s something that will need to wait for the kid to overcome his ankle issue. Is Tiernan a new-and-improved version of Rouse?
Whoever signs Rouse is going to get somebody who boasts promise.
Indeed, Walter Rouse is a 25-year-old offensive lineman who played his college ball at Stanford and then Oklahoma. Nice mix of brains (Stanford) alongside knowing how to operate from within a football hotbed (Oklahoma). He stands at 6’6″ and weighs 330 pounds, meaning he was literally the Vikings’ biggest player prior to getting cut.
So far, Rouse has made a negligible impact on the field. He has only been involved in eight games across his pair of seasons, leading to 88 snaps on offense and 38 snaps on specials.
A team like the Philadelphia Eagles could make sense as a landing spot given that Chris Kuper is on their coaching staff, meaning there’s a built-in connection.
On Vikings Territory, there has been a recently published 53-man roster projection. So, too, is there a tracker to corral all of the day’s news. Check out that stuff.
Minnesota needs to be down to a maximum of 53 players by 5 p.m. CT.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
