3 Massive Vikings Events Swirl Simultaneously
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings offseason started emphatically the day after the 2021 regular season ended. The team finished another underwhelming season with an 8-9 record, plagued by poor defense in crucial spots of games and oft-anemic playcalling.
And then the winds of change blustered — cue the Scorpions song — leading to these four momentous offseason events to date:
- The terminations of Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer
- The hire of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as general manager
- The almost hire of Jim Harbaugh from Michigan
- The selection of Kevin O’Connell as head coach
Those are earthshaking Vikings transactions since January 10th.
Now, the franchise is on the cusp of three more — at the same time.
1. Cap Compliance Is Mandated by March 16
What does that mean? That means “stuff” has to happen by Wednesday. Minnesota is $15 million over the cap with four days to go before NFL salary cap compliance is mandatory. The Vikings cannot stay as-is. It’s not an option.
So, Adofo-Mensah must clear cap space, evaluating the futures of longtime veterans like Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Adam Thielen, Michael Pierce, and perhaps Dalvin Cook. Money must be squeezed from somewhere. Historically, under the Spielman brand, deals would be backloaded, shoving dollars into the future and thus alleviating immediate panic.
There is no reason to believe Adofo-Mensah will carry on that tactic.
Whether it’s baby steps amid the next 85+ hours or a turbulent flurry of transactions in one swoop, the Vikings must get underneath the salary cap threshold. And preferably, they’d do so by Monday when the “legal tampering” phase of free agency commences. Teams can legally talk to free agents then.
Guaranteed change is slated for now. It’s just a matter of when the news hits the wire. Players with chunky contracts will be released, restructured, or traded.
Speaking of trades —
2. A Decision on Kirk Cousins’ Future
When Spielman extended Cousins in the spring of 2020, the deal was finagled so this moment would be inevitable.
Cousins played on a $21 million cap hit during the pandemic season, a puny figure as quarterbacks like Jacoby Brissett made more money per cap hit that season. But now, Minnesota has to pony up a sinful $45 million cap hit for the quarterback who is usually around the 11th-best in the NFL. He ain’t worth $45 million.
Ergo, the Vikings can extend Cousins again, trade him, or allow him to play out the naughty one-year figure. Because the aforementioned cap compliance date looms, one would think Cousins’ future would be decided — like now.
Just like the compliance deadline, the Vikings must choose a fate for Cousins via extension, trade, or status quo. Otherwise, Adofo-Mensah would examine signing new players in free agency with Cousins’ cap hit suffocating the books.
3. Entering or Exiting the Deshaun Watson Sweepstakes
The one you never thought you’d see.
Deshaun Watson was cleared of criminal wrongdoing this week, enabling his NFL career to resume once he resolves the civil allegations of misconduct. According to NFL sources, all franchises needed to see was an exit-state-left of criminal allegations to hop aboard the Watson-trade train.
Some team will undoubtedly trade for Watson, who doesn’t want to play for the Texans anymore. He made that clear before the sexual misconduct imputations surfaced.
The Vikings are semi-credibly linked to the Deshaun Watson Sweepstakes, so the Vikings new sect of leadership must decide if a player carrying wildly suspicious character is worth it as the face of the franchise.
Finally, because five-plus teams will swarm the Watson trade talks, the Vikings have to act now — with cap compliance and the Cousins verdict on tap — if they genuinely want Watson in purple and gold.
All of this offseason fodder is occurring simultaneously.
And you thought Harbaugh Mania was wild. It was a movie trailer for March.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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