Blake Cashman grew up in Eden Prairie and played for the Gophers, but last season was his first with the Minnesota Vikings. Still, he knew from afar that players liked playing for the Vikings.
“The Minnesota Vikings always have a really good, strong culture,” he said after cleaning out his locker following Minnesota’s season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Glendale, Ariz. “No matter who they’ve had in the building, it’s always been a very competitive football team.”
The New York Jets took Cashman in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. He spent his first three years in New York and then two with the Houston Texans before signing with Minnesota last offseason. Cashman says the Vikings have a good reputation throughout the league but that he was more familiar with their culture because of his Minnesota connections.
“I only knew that because of the relationships I’ve had with guys that have been here in the past,” said Cashman. “I always knew that by just always growing up here and watching the Vikings from afar.
“There’s always so much fight with the Minnesota Vikings,” Cashman added, highlighting the adversity the Vikings faced when Cousins went down last year. “That’s one of the things that attracted me (to sign with Minnesota).”
Roster turnover is the hardest part of Minnesota’s one-and-done playoff losses in two of the past three seasons. They’ve had enough talent and chemistry to win 13 and 14 games, respectively, but their season ended abruptly.
In 2022, the Vikings won with the remnants of the Mike Zimmer era. Kevin O’Connell’s collaborative coaching released the tension that built at the end of Zimmer’s tenure, and Minnesota surprised everyone by going 11-0 in one-score games two years ago.
However, the Vikings started Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s competitive rebuild by releasing Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, and Dalvin Cook. That created a talent exodus and also overhauled the roster.
Still, the Vikings developed good chemistry in 2023. They started 0-3 but believed they could make the playoffs despite long odds. Everyone in the Lambeau Field locker room looked deflated after Cousins went down, but they rallied around Joshua Dobbs. Minnesota was 7-6 after shutting out the Las Vegas Raiders but lost their last four games after Zac Taylor solved its defense.
The bond between teammates in 2022 and 2023 shouldn’t detract from how unique this year’s team was after significant roster turnover. Kirk Cousins left in free agency, and the Vikings overhauled their defense by adding Cashman, Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel.
Adofo-Mensah completed his competitive rebuild, which meant he overhauled the roster in three seasons, and the players had to create new bonds every year. Still, they did, especially this season.
“It’s not usual for an NFL team to be as tight as we are,” Jefferson said before the Detroit game. “Everyone is joking, laughing, enjoying the process, enjoying the moment we’re in.”
O’Connell’s greatest lament after the Rams eliminated Minnesota in the postseason is that a team that was so close suddenly would change in the offseason without going on a playoff run.
“I appreciate everything about those guys and what they mean to me,” he said. “They’re a part of me, and they all know that. But that only gets you so far. You’ve got to play at a certain standard.”
The Vikings must recreate that bond next year to build off their 14-win season and produce better results in the playoffs.
“When you think about championship level, no matter the sport, it all starts with culture,” avers Cashman, who gave Vikings ownership, Adofo-Mensah, and O’Connell credit for building a positive environment. “When you have that, it’s going to lead to an organization where you’re going to attract the right people.”
Minnesota missed an opportunity to go on a playoff run with a tightly bonded team that won 14 games this year. Still, their ownership, management, and core players like Jefferson should allow them to re-create that chemistry next year.
