The Minnesota Vikings whittled their roster down to 53 players on Saturday, after cutting their roster down from 75.
Twenty-two players were officially released by Minnesota on Saturday, the most notable among them being offensive lineman David Yankey, defensive backs Shaun Prater and Josh Thomas, linebacker Michael Mauti and running backs DuJuan Harris and Dominique Williams.
Also on Saturday, Minnesota traded for guard/tackle Jeremiah Sirles, formerly of the San Diego Chargers. Sirles, a Nebraska product, was an undrafted free agent in 2014 and made a late-season start for San Diego in 2014.
The full list of Vikings who were released on Saturday includes Yankey, Prater, Thomas, Mauti, Harris and Williams, in addition to tackle Babatune Aiyegbusi, defensive tackle Chigbo Anunoby, defensive end B.J. DuBose, guard Isame Faciane, center Tom Farniok, receiver Donte Foster, receiver Isaac Fruechte, safety Anthony Harris, defensive tackle Greg Hickman, defensive end Leon Mackey, linebacker Brian Peters, fullback Blake Renaud, tackle Tyrus Thompson, center Bob Vardaro, linebacker Brandon Watts and receiver Ryan Whalen.
Additionally, cornerback Jabari Price was placed on the reserved/suspended list, as expected.
Among other notable roster moves, Minnesota opted to keep undrafted rookie Taylor Heinicke on its active roster, giving the club three QBs. Heinicke, following a prolific career at Old Dominion, was deemed worthy of a roster spot, as the Vikings weren't willing to risk letting him slip away via waivers.
The Vikings also opted to keep four tight ends, paving the way for Chase Ford to remain on the roster. The Vikings kept nine offensive linemen, nine defensive linemen and nine defensive backs.
With top offensive line backup Joe Berger filling in at center recently, Minnesota was reportedly concerned about its depth at guard. Thus, the Vikings cut Yankey, their fifth-round pick out of Stanford in 2014, who did not play a regular-season snap in 2014.
Minnesota ended up keeping eight of its 10 draft picks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
