Every Path Forward for Vikings Future Is a Trap Door
The Minnesota Vikings have a 4-7 record through 12 weeks of 2025 — a season when the franchise was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl or at least fetch a Wildcard playoff berth.
The Vikings forged a competitive rebuild plan at the start of 2022, and almost four years later, the team is in dire straits. Every path forward is blocked.
The front office spent nearly $350 million in free agency eight months ago, slamming the book on its competitive rebuild process and inching toward go-time to win a Super Bowl.
Now, the club is inches away from mathematical playoff contention in 2025, and everywhere folks look for a long-term solution, a roadblock stands in the way.
The Vikings’ Future Is Jammed Everywhere
The previously bright future is now dimmer than a candle in a thunderstorm.
1. Possible Solution: Fire General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Roadblock:
Little evidence to suggest that firing the general manager while retaining the head coach translates to success.
Assume the Vikings fire Adofo-Mensah. After all, the Miami Dolphins recently canned their general manager, and Mike McDaniel is still employed. There is minimal precedent for terminating the general manager, keeping the head coach, and finding prosperity thereafter.
The Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans have tried it in the last few years, and both teams fired the head coach months after the new general manager took over.
What’s more, Adofo-Mensah’s replacement would likely want to pick his head coach; it’s the most important task a general manager undertakes — picking the right leader for his team. Smashing a new general manager together with O’Connell feels like a half-measured solution. A longshot fix that mixed desperation with the hodgepodge.
2. Possible Solution: Fire Head Coach Kevin O’Connell
Roadblock:
O’Connell is virtually assured of being hired by a new franchise immediately, and he will probably thrive. It’s like letting Sam Darnold walk.
Here’s the case for firing O’Connell. He’s the offensive guru, right?
Vikings Offense,
NFL Ranking,
Per EPA/Play:
2022: 18th
2023: 18th
2024: 14th
2025: 28th
The man does not manufacture efficient offenses, despite a reputation for doing so.
Still, firing O’Connell would lead him to a new team rather quickly, and he’d probably morph into “the one that got away,” particularly if he latched on to the Kansas City Chiefs (if Andy Reid stepped away).
Can fans handle getting rid of O’Connell if they know he will succeed elsewhere? After doing some introspection, he’ll probably improve at his next spot. Maybe even run the ball.
3. Possible Solution: Fire both Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell
Roadblock:
These two men’s contracts were extended mere months ago. Their extension years and money haven’t even kicked in yet.
Mark and Zygi Wilf don’t make impulsive decisions at the top of their franchise. One bad season won’t send them running to the hills. Even Leslie Frazier got grace. Mike Zimmer did, too, to a degree, allowed to coach the 2021 campaign.
They’d also be lighting money on fire, as the first year of Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s extensions doesn’t start until 2026.
4. Possible Solution: Stay the Course with J.J. McCarthy and Exercise Patience
Roadblock:
Without any exaggeration, McCarthy, by the numbers, is one of the worst quarterbacks in human history through six starts. He might just be a bust like Josh Rosen, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, etc. Busts happen.
O’Connell has said he doesn’t believe in failing young quarterbacks, but what if his guy is a true stinker? A bust? At what point does practicality take over from a happy slogan?
There’s a decent chance that Minnesota will remain committed to a bad quarterback (if McCarthy just never improves) out of an abundance of loyalty. Giving up on a player a year too late instead of a year too early.
5. Possible Solution: Admit J.J. McCarthy Is Not Good and Move On
Roadblock:
This is a kneejerk reaction based on how O’Connell has preached quarterback development. McCarthy could be a Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield in 2027 or 2028, for example, and the Vikings will look like damn fools for a lack of patience.
Here, Minnesota would show McCarthy the door in the 2026 or 2027 offseason, and down the road, McCarthy might “figure it out.” Like the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns now, the Vikings will look like fools for not empowering their 22-year-old quarterback and then giving up on him prematurely.
6. Possible Solution: Hope the Vikings’ Situation Gets Better As-Is
Roadblock:
Staying the course could result in more of the same next season and “the definition of insanity.”
Minnesota could keep everything the same at general manager, head coach, and QB1, and by the end of October or so in 2026, have a 1-7 record or something similar. Not recognizing that 2025 was a warning sign, all the options mentioned in this article will be about a year late.
7. Possible Solution: Draft Another Quarterback in April
Roadblock:
It would seem mind-boggling to let Adofo-Mensah draft another quarterback after apparently blundering the McCarthy pick and the entire 2022 draft class.
Adofo-Mensah had one thing going for him among folks who blasted his drafting resume: if he hits on McCarthy, nobody will really care that his first draft flamed out.
Now, in the middle of the 2025 regular season, real questions exist about McCarthy. If McCarthy is a bust, how on earth could Adofo-Mensah be trusted to draft another quarterback, let alone a whole class of players?
8. Possible Solution: Trade for Kyler Murray in the Offseason
Roadblock:
The Cardinals may want a 1st-Round pick for Murray, and Minnesota’s budget is cash-strapped.
Murray may be available for trade in February and March, and he represents the single escape hatch for Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell — if the Wilfs allow the duo to make the deal.
Still, Murray will probably cost Minnesota its 2026 1st-Round pick, which could be a Top 10 selection. Then, he earns $45 million per season. The all-in Vikings with very limited funds would have to clear the books to accommodate Murray by cutting several players.
Even with the one avenue that could solve the current conundrum — acquiring Murray — that, too, has barriers. A sweet draft pick and money.
9. Possible Solution: Sign the Best Free Agent Quarterback
Roadblock:
This is how the organization ended up with Kirk Cousins, and any free-agent quarterback will have a limited ceiling — hence why the Vikings didn’t win a Super Bowl with Cousins or Darnold. Other teams didn’t want them for a reason.
Pretend the Vikings decide McCarthy won’t transform into a franchise quarterback. The club would return to a familiar arena: “All we need is a competent quarterback.” It’s the same thinking that has plagued Vikings’ history, nudging them toward countless free-agent and over-the-hill retread quarterback options.
The 2026 offseason would introduce them to someone like Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Gardner Minshew — or even Cousins himself (again).
The only solution to all these roadblocks is for McCarthy to suddenly play well in the final six games. After Sunday’s performance at Lambeau — and three or four before that — it’s worth asking if that’s even conceivable.
You must be logged in to post a comment.