New England Patriots Trade for Player Cut By Minnesota Vikings

As two teams playing in opposite conferences, the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings rarely overlap. One team is fresh off being the AFC representative in the Super Bowl, and the other is trying to re-establish itself as a playoff contender after a nine-win year in 2025. They are not the same.

Yet, on Sunday, as all NFL teams are making the mad dash in cutting rosters down from 90 to 53 players, the Patriots and Vikings did overlap.

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Minnesota Vikings Trade OL Walter Rouse to New England PatriotsAug 28, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Walter Rouse (73) blocks Denver Broncos defensive tackle Jordan Jackson (94) during the first quarter during a preseason game at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots have agreed to trade for Vikings offensive tackle/guard Walter Rouse. Per The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis, the Vikings are including a 2027 seventh along with Rouse, but they’re getting a sixth-round pick back from New England in exchange.

The Vikings initially made Rouse the 177th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, hoping he could develop into a long-term building block. Yet, that never happened.

The 25-year-old Rouse made it into one game as a rookie and seven more last season once injury trouble struck in Minnesota. With both Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill dealing with injuries, Rouse played 88 snaps on offense last season, and 32 more on special teams.

Yet, with their tackle depth in question, the Vikings prioritized that spot this offseason, signing restricted free agent Ryan Van De Mark to an offer sheet that eventually led to a contract and drafting Caleb Tiernan in the third round. Thus, the writing had long been on the wall for Rouse.

The Vikings knew he faced long odds of making the roster for a third year in a row and asked him to switch to guard in training camp. While that may have carved an easier path to making the roster in Minnesota, the work he did throughout the preseason now lands Rouse another opportunity, though this time it comes with Mike Vrabel’s Patriots instead.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Set to Release All-Pro, Roll With Undrafted Rookie

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