Vikings

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's Roster Gambles Have the Vikings Playing the Slots Again

Photo Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

It wasn’t long ago that watching the Minnesota Vikings felt like playing a slot machine. The Vikings entered each game hoping to win, but they needed a somewhat unlikely series of events to make that happen. It was enough for some people to think Mike Zimmer needed a cigarette. Ultimately, it was the state of a flawed roster that was good enough to compete but not good enough to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Zimmer was hauled out of that casino a long time ago, but the concept remains. While Kevin O’Connell seems more like a counting-cards-with-Sean-McVay kind of guy, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s roster construction has created a slot-playing dynamic again. After four years of collecting dust, it’s the Vikings general manager playing that game.

Think back to how the Vikings were constructed in the final years of the Zimmer era. Zimmer’s teams were deep during the late 2010s, but Kirk Cousins’ fully guaranteed contract meant they needed to move on and develop their own talent to remain a true contender.

First, they pushed Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph out the door. However, the biggest shift came in 2020 when the Vikings relied on a bunch of young players on the defensive side, and it failed miserably.

2020 was the first time Zimmer had a bad defense, finishing 27th in total defense and 29th in points allowed. The disappointment led to a huge spending spree in the offseason, where the Vikings added Dalvin Tomlinson, Bashaud Breeland, and Patrick Peterson. However, it also created a paper-thin layer of depth in case anyone got hurt.

Injuries inevitably occurred, and each bet the Vikings made on depth didn’t pay off. But this isn’t about a bet on a player for an entire season. Minnesota’s roster was so thin that it relied on a gamble every single Sunday.

If the offensive line didn’t protect Cousins, the game was over. If Cousins had a bad day or a receiver didn’t catch the ball, the game was over. And if the defense didn’t play to its 2017 level, you may as well decide to do something else.

It continued in this manner until the Vikings fired Zimmer after the 2021 season and Cousins left two years later. But while Adofo-Mensah didn’t need to work around a high-priced quarterback, he needed to navigate a series of misses in the draft.

The 2022 draft is the most egregious of Adofo-Mensah’s tenure. But the 2023 draft doesn’t appear to be much better. Jordan Addison and Jay Ward are the only players remaining on the roster. The jury is still out on the 2024 draft class, but it’s still bracing to see Walter Rouse and Michael Jurgens thrown into the deep end of the pool.

Without young players to lean on, Minnesota had to dive into free agency this past winter like a guy who was trying to hit a big parlay to pay rent. The Vikings made bets on Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave after their respective teams released them. They doubled down when they signed Ryan Kelly and Will Fries.

The end result came crashing down in a heap against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday morning. Fellow free agent Justin Skule entered the game when Brian O’Neill suffered a knee injury in the first quarter. Kelly left the game soon after with his fourth documented concussion since 2023. Fries had a costly penalty when the Vikings were in the red zone, and Hargrave and Allen were part of a front that got gashed for 131 rushing yards.

That’s not to say that everything was a bust. Isaiah Rodgers is making a case to be one of the best free agent signings in the NFL. However, the lack of depth became glaring as each bet Adofo-Mensah made over the past year failed.

It gives the vibe of a crazed maniac pulling the slot machine lever, hoping that this is the time he hits big. But because not all free agents are created equal, it leaves the gambler stuffing more money into the machine.

Perhaps McCarthy develops and becomes the guy who drags Adofo-Mensah away from the slot machine. But even then, time is running out to take advantage of a rookie contract that is veering closer to having its first two years being lit on fire.

It emphasizes the need for some of Minnesota’s young players to step up and show their worth. But as Zimmer once did, continuing to play the slots can leave a man down on his luck real quick.

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