The Month of Great Roster Change Begins for Vikings
Dustin Baker
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Welcome to March – the month when a large portion of NFL players find new homes or return to existing ones.
Free agency kicks off in two weeks, and for the Vikings, the process is one of vast mystery. Why? Because there’s a new general manager in town, and his name is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The previous guy, Rick Spielman, was in charge for 15 years, so the weight of change is tangible as March begins.
Nobody can predict Adofo-Mensah. He has no track record. All that is known suggests the man is smart as hell and energetically equipped with a big smile. He could sign free agents left and right – or sign no one new while retaining the core group. Nobody knows.
That’s why this cycle of free agency – and eventually the draft in April – is so interesting. Adofo-Mensah is as mysterious as Amazon rainforest geoglyphs. He could be a big spender. But maybe he isn’t. He might want to keep Kirk Cousins; perhaps he’ll trade the divisive signal-caller.
In any event, these are the free agents on the Vikings roster who will experience a mini-reckoning for 2022 whereabouts in the coming weeks:
Mackensie Alexander (CB)
Anthony Barr (LB)
Chad Beebe (WR)
Jordan Berry (P)
Mason Cole (C)
Tyler Conklin (TE)
Wayne Gallman (RB)
Everson Griffen (EDGE)
Chris Herndon (TE)
Rashod Hill (OL)
Greg Joseph (K)
Sean Mannion (QB)
Patrick Peterson (CB)
Sheldon Richardson (DT)
Nick Vigil (LB)
Dede Westbrook (WR)
Xavier Woods (S)
Eddie Yarbrough (EDGE)
Too, a first domino will fall – as in, any day now – setting into motion the next batch of events. It could be a restructuring of Adam Thielen’s contract. It could be news Anthony Barr is joining a different team. The aforementioned Cousins trade could actually happen. Maybe Danielle Hunter will recommit to the Vikings.
The news cycle has to start somewhere, so be prepared for that.
The most important task for Adofo-Mensah out of the gate? Finding the money. Every year for about a half-decade, the Vikings are in a messy spot for salary cap room, forced to get rid of beloved veterans or sign a bunch of players to one-year deals. This year is no different. Before Adofo-Mensah can improve the roster, he must find money as Minnesota is about $15 million over the cap at the beginning of March. Therefore, “person A is not returning to the team” seems like a logical start to the free-agent festivities. That could be Anthony Barr, Michael Pierce, or someone else.
The time is now. March has arrived. This month should show fans if the Vikings truly want to contend for the playoffs in 2022 – or if the addition of Adofo-Mensah and new coach Kevin O’Connell is indeed a junior rebuild. Vikings ownership insists the team will be ultra-competitive in 2022, but we shall see. Trading Cousins and Hunter would sock the playoff hopes in the gut.
We’re here. The Vikings roster will change substantially this offseason, and free agency is less than two weeks away. This could be the largest assortment of change for the purple and gold team since the deconstruction of the Favre teams.
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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