Five things to watch in the Vikings’ preseason finale against the Eagles

The Vikings close the preseason in Philadelphia against the Eagles on Saturday (noon, Fox 9), and after a scrimmage on Thursday, many of their top players figure to get a rest day. Here are five things we’ll be watching as roster cuts loom Tuesday:

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Thursday that Hall would start at quarterback Saturday, in what should be his most extensive work of the preseason. He’ll likely play the entire first half, after directing a game-winning field goal drive against the Raiders and posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Browns.

The Vikings will have an interesting decision to make on the second-year quarterback by the time the roster cutdown deadline arrives at 3 p.m. Tuesday: He’s certainly been more efficient during this preseason, and the fact teams can now elevate an emergency third quarterback from the practice squad means the Vikings could try to pass him through waivers and keep him on the practice squad if they’re not worried about another team claiming him.

Hall’s disastrous Sunday night start in a must-win New Year’s Eve game against the Packers last year likely lingers in the minds of evaluators, but the dearth of solid quarterbacks in the NFL means Hall could get claimed elsewhere, especially if his preseason helps him make a positive impression.

McGlothern, the undrafted free agent the Vikings signed out of Arkansas, made a strong impression in training camp and has been perhaps their best cover corner in the preseason. He intercepted a pass at the Vikings’ 1 in the third quarter last week and returned it to the Browns’ 8 before he was pushed out of bounds. The Vikings need young corners, and McGlothern has looked capable enough in training camp and the preseason that he could earn a spot on the 53-man roster. He could get one more chance to show he’s ready for the job against the Eagles.

Teams are generally more cautious these days about playing starters in the preseason, and the Vikings have used their starters sparingly under O’Connell in the exhibition season, so an absence from the final preseason game is probably less of a surefire indicator that a player has made the roster than it used to be. Still, it’s worth watching which players aren’t in pads for the Eagles game, especially as it relates to role players and key backups. If the Vikings keep those players out of the game, it could be because they’ve seen enough to know those players are on the team. A few of the decisions they make about playing or sitting players in the Eagles game could be telling.

After the Vikings traded back 20 spots in a deal with the Lions in the first round of the draft two years ago, they made Cine the first draft pick under General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Cine’s compound fracture in his left leg in London ended his rookie year after five games, but he hasn’t been enough of a factor when healthy to lock up a roster spot.

He’s currently on the third rung of the Vikings’ depth chart at safety and could be a trade candidate if the Vikings get an opportunity to recoup about $1.75 million in cap space with a deal. Cine’s $3.134 million cap figure is guaranteed for the season, so a deal would be the only way the Vikings can move him with cap savings. He intercepted a pass and had a sack as an unblocked pass rusher against the Browns; the Eagles game might give him one more shot to make an impression.

The Vikings signed Corral, a former third-round pick, a week ago, and the quarterback played only five snaps in the Browns game the day after he joined the team. He’ll likely get the second half on Saturday, giving the Vikings one chance to evaluate him in a game setting before roster cuts. Corral missed all of his 2022 rookie season with a Lisfranc injury and hadn’t played a regular-season snap in the NFL before going to the UFL, where he helped the Birmingham Stallions win the league championship this spring. He’ll get a full half of work in the preseason finale; a practice squad spot seems like the best-case scenario for him.

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