A Kwesi masterclass.
A few hours into Monday afternoon it felt like the Minnesota Vikings hadn’t woken up yet. Top free agents were flying off the board, agreeing to terms with other teams — and it was as if the organization was sitting on its hands, in a daze about what to do with their $60M in cap space.
The foolish part was doubting Vikings’ GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — who has consistently proven himself to be one of the most astute and shrewd executives in the NFL. On Tuesday Kwesi went to work, and it was astonishingly impressive.
Minnesota had four primary concerns entering free agency:
- They had to make a decision about Sam Darnold
- The offensive line needed an upgrade at its interior
- The defensive line needed more beef in the middle
- The secondary needed to keep its key players, and add more talent
The Vikings achieved every single one of these goals, the bulk of which were settled on Tuesday. It was a flurry of activity raiding the second tier of free agents and closing multiple deals while the most active teams on Monday were forced to pick and choose after spending the bulk of their funds on top players.
Letting Sam Darnold walk wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one. Regardless of whether or not J.J. McCarthy has what it takes to be the franchise QB, the Vikings made a commitment not just to draft him, but trade up for him. The path forward is to support that original vision, and not be sidetracked. There were also salient questions about whether or not we’ve seen the absolute ceiling of Darnold’s ability, and it still didn’t get the Vikes any closer to winning a championship than with Kirk Cousins — so why blow cap space on that?
For what it’s worth, I think the Seahawks are going to regret pivoting from Geno Smith to Darnold, and that signing won’t work out — but that’s simply an aside.
Minnesota’s free agency brilliance kicked in after their first concern was settled. Will Fries and Ryan Kelly were two of the top interior linemen available in this class, with Fries in particular being Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 ranked offensive guard last season — which is a tremendous talent upgrade for the line. These two moves are pivotal, because it brings the Vikings into the new NFL when it comes to protections. Around the league teams are realizing that quarterbacks struggle more with interior pressure than edge pressure. In many ways we had three recent Super Bowls that typified this shift:
- Patrick Mahomes losing to the Buccaneers because Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh blew up the interior
- Brock Purdy losing to the Chiefs because Chris Jones was a wrecking ball in the middle
- Patrick Mahomes losing to the Eagles because of pressure from Milton Williams and Jalen Carter
The quickest route between two points is a straight line, and with offenses around the league preaching quick release, and three-second snap-to-pass structures, it only makes sense to try and beef up at DT and rush though linemen, rather than around them. Fixing in the interior will be incredibly beneficial for McCarthy in his first year, just as we saw Bryce Young take strides with the Panthers in 2024 after they added two big offense guards in free agency a year ago.
This is also why beefing up at DT was a priority for Minnesota. The team had fantastic edge rushing from Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, but the Vikings were weak inside. Both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave may be short-term solutions designed to buy time while the team can find players through the draft — but it’s one heck of a bridge to collapse the interior.
Finally it was about retaining talent in the secondary and getting an upgrade. Once again, Kwesi and the Vikings did it. Making sure Byron Murphy was back in the fold was of paramount concern, and they managed to re-sign him, while also inking Isaiah Rodgers from the Eagles — who might not have been the biggest household name in secondary free agency, but is a plus-level nickel with the ability to play some outside corner as needed.
The best part? Minnesota isn’t done yet. They still have a little cap space to play around with around $10 million to still use, and potentially more if any deals are restructured. This is easily enough to find some rotational players for depth, and that’s extremely exciting if you’re a Vikings fan.
At this point the team is trending upwards. If McCarthy can be just 75 percent as serviceable as Darnold was in his first season then this team can make some noise with their additions.
Now let’s spin around the league for some other winners and losers of the legal tampering period.
We already took a dive into the teams that got better and the ones who struggled in the opening days of free agency, so instead let’s focus on some players who won out.
Winner: Daniel Jones
I’m not going to pretend Jones is a world-beater, but there’s something about putting him in a Shane Steichen offense in Indianapolis which is just intriguing as hell. This was the best possible landing spot for him, and provides a rare opportunity to compete for a starting job — which wouldn’t have been possible elsewhere.
If Jones stayed in Minnesota he would have been competing to be a caretaker, at best. The knowledge that the team was always looking for a replacement would hang a pall over the job. Instead he now lands on a team with an open QB competition, a coach who understands how to use Jones’ skillset, and a team desperate for improvement at QB.
This was a great fit.
Winner: Dan Moore Jr’s agent
Winning or losing is inconsequential if you can find a sucker to pay you. The former Steelers offensive tackle was largely reviled by fans in Pittsburgh for his terrible play, and he allowed the most sacks in the league last season.
Then the Titans gave him a 4 year, $82M deal with $50M guaranteed. What are the Titans thinking? Nobody knows. Kudos to the agent who got this deal done.
Loser: The wide receiver market
We’re seeing massive retraction at WR as teams pivot to interior blocking and a greater emphasis on running backs. Outside of the massive deal D.K. Metcalf got in his extension with Pittsburgh, a lot of receivers are still without teams — and those who have signed aren’t breaking the bank.
The Chris Godwins and Davante Adams’ of the NFL were always getting paid, but as it stands Amani Cooper doesn’t have a team, Stefon Diggs hasn’t found a home — heck, the best DeAndre Hopkins could manage was a 1 year, $5M deal with the Ravens. While that’s largely about truing to win a championship, it’s also indicative of a slack market.
Loser: Russell Wilson
How the mighty have fallen. Wilson’s precipitous drop in recent years is really being underscored by how lax the market is for him. As it stands Russ feels like the ultimate “if we can’t get anyone else” quarterback on the market.
It’s probably fair to think of him as a low-level starter or high-level backup at this point, but it’s still remarkable to see a name like Russell Wilson’s attract so little attention around the league.
