The Vikings whittled their roster down two more players Monday, waiving Australian punter Oscar Chapman and tackle Leroy Watson IV. They currently have 77 players, with the deadline to set their 53-man roster on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Central time.
As long as Chapman clears waivers and is not signed by another team, the Vikings are likely to add him to the practice squad, where he would have a designated spot as a part of the International Player Pathway program.
On Wednesday, Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said it was still an open competition between Chapman and veteran Ryan Wright for the punting job.
“Right now, it’s a neck-and-neck situation, especially with Will [Reichard] being confident in the operation with Chap being the holder,” Daniels said. “That’s always going to be a big, big [piece in the decision]. So we’ll see how this thing caps off for us in this last preseason game.”
Chapman did not, however, punt against the Titans in the Vikings’ 23-13 preseason loss on Friday. Wright punted twice, landing both balls inside the 20-yard line and averaging 40 yards between the two kicks.
Chapman held for just one of Reichard’s four field-goal attempts, a 55-yard miss in the third quarter. Replay showed some difficulty setting the ball for the hold. He also held on a point-after attempt.
In the previous two preseason games, Chapman punted a combined three times and averaged 52.3 yards per punt. He held on one other PAT and three field goals of 54, 47 and 27 yards.
Watson is a third-year player who previously spent time with the Browns and Titans. He started at left tackle Friday and appeared in the two other preseason games.