The drama of the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason took another twist over the weekend when a Mike Florio report suggested the Vikings are reluctant to offer fully guaranteed money in the second year of a contract – unless it’s for a quarterback. That could be the hold-up with Justin Jefferson’s extension.
You may have heard that Kirk Cousins will hit free agency next month, and that’s when the real conversations start. You may also have heard that Cousins is a lightning rod. Half the fanbase hopes to lock in for the next 10 years, and the other half is willing to passive-aggressively help load his U-Haul.
But some have taken this report to suggest that the Wilfs are pushing to go the extra mile for Cousins.
Part of the fanbase has criticized Minnesota’s ownership recently. They believe the Wilfs are content with hovering around .500 every year and remaining “in the hunt” for a playoff spot to ensure a full stadium every Sunday. Every owner has some say in how their team operates. But that’s a moot point because, unless they are Jerry Jones or David Tepper, they’re not the ones making the moves.
That title belongs to the general manager. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown some similarities to Rick Spielman, his predecessor. But he has also done some things differently that could bode well for the future.
In many ways, Adofo-Mensah has modeled his early days after Rick Spielman’s. The term “competitive rebuild” has been turned into a meme since Adofo-Mensah uttered it shortly after the Vikings hired him in 2022. But Spielman did the same thing after Minnesota promoted him to general manager in 2012.
Minnesota’s young core made the playoffs in Spielman’s first year as GM. But the real work came a year later when he acquired three first-round picks in the 2013 draft to select Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, and Cordarrelle Patterson. The Vikings went 5-10-1 in 2013 but weren’t intentionally tanking and hired Mike Zimmer the following season.
The Vikings were only two years removed from a playoff appearance and were optimistic in their first year under Zimmer. They added Linval Joseph in free agency before Adrian Peterson was charged with felony child abuse one week into the season. Matt Cassel lasted two weeks as the starter before Teddy Bridgewater took over. Minnesota’s youth movement started sooner than anticipated, and the Vikings finished 7-9.
A .500 season gave Spielman a license to lean into the roster’s youth, leading to one of the greatest draft classes in franchise history. That year, they drafted Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs. Together, they formed a young nucleus, and the Vikings won the division. They were on the verge of a playoff win before Blair Walsh sent a 27-yard field goal attempt into the Mississippi River.
The youth movement was underway, and the Vikings were on the verge of capitalizing on the vaunted rookie quarterback contract window when an awkward step destroyed Teddy Bridgewater’s leg and disrupted Spielman’s roster-building.
Starting in 2016, Spielman made aggressive “win now” moves. He traded a first-round pick for Sam Bradford, and the Vikings started 5-0. But injuries caught up to them, and they finished 8-8. Everything clicked in 2017, when Case Keenum led Minnesota to the NFC Championship game.
And then the Vikings signed Cousins.
Minnesota locked up as many of the stars on the roster as possible, signing Anthony Barr, Kendricks, Diggs, and Adam Thielen to lucrative extensions. Rob Brzezinski acted as the Simone Biles of salary cap gymnastics to get just about everyone except for Hunter top-of-the-market value.
However, the spending eventually slowed because of salary cap restrictions, and Spielman stopped hitting in the draft. Spielman still made win-now moves, but they had less of an impact. He signed Sheldon Richardson to shore up the defense in 2018, but salary cap restrictions forced him to sign Bashaud Breeland in 2021.
More of his impact work came in the draft. Spielman selected Christian Darrisaw and Justin Jefferson in back-to-back seasons, but he couldn’t find the impact players later in the draft. With Zimmer’s performance and culture eroding, the Wilfs considered keeping Spielman around but ultimately fired both at the end of the 2021 season.
Cue the conspiracy theories. Ryan Poles and Adofo-Mensah became the two candidates for the Vikings job that spring, but it was rumored the Wilfs weren’t fond of the full-scale teardown that Poles wanted to perform in Chicago. They hired Adofo-Mensah soon after, and his first two years of his work have seemed a lot like a continuation of Spielman’s tenure.
One of Adofo-Mensah’s first orders of business in 2022 was to sign Cousins to a one-year extension, and he worked overtime to lock in many of the stars that Spielman the year prior. The moves led to a 13-4 season. But Adofo-Mensah started to differentiate from the path that Spielman paved after they lost in the first round to the New York Giants.
Adofo-Mensah released Thielen and Kendricks early in the offseason and let high-priced free agents Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson sign with other teams. Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Cook followed later, but Adofo-Mensah otherwise stuck to bargain signings like Byron Murphy and Marcus Davenport to work around a big-money quarterback contract.
A 1-4 start and Cousins’ torn Achilles derailed their season. But it also created an opportunity for Adofo-Mensah to further differentiate himself from his predecessor.
In the past, it felt like Vikings players could walk up to Spielman’s office and ask for a raise when their contract was due. But that hasn’t been the case with Adofo-Mensah. It felt like Minnesota was certain to extend T.J. Hockenson and Jefferson a year ago. However, both negotiations took longer than expected before the Vikings agreed to two guaranteed years on Hockenson’s contract.
Guaranteed money could be the hold-up in Jefferson’s next deal, and the multi-ligament knee injury Hockenson suffered last December could amplify the importance of that decision. They may not want to fully guarantee Jefferson’s extension beyond one year, but it shows that there is a method to the madness, even if they reach a deal eventually.
They’ve taken the same approach at quarterback. While Spielman resorted to need-based drafting, Adofo-Mensah has searched for the right fit. Spielman’s gut and Minnesota’s need for a quarterback of the future led them to take Christian Ponder in 2012 and Bridgewater in 2014. But Adofo-Mensah has appeared to be more calculated. He passed on Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis in 2022 and Will Levis and Hendon Hooker in last year’s draft.
The issue with Adofo-Mensah is that he let the hourglass run out of sand with Cousins’ contract, which has led him to a bunch of crucial decisions that Spielman had spread out over several offseasons. It creates a headache for Vikings fans who have argued over small details, but it also allows Adofo-Mensah to put a stamp on his tenure.
This offseason could answer a lot about where the Vikings might be headed. But it also is a chance to kick off a new era that has seemingly been on hold for the past three seasons.
