5 Former Vikings the Team Let Walk Too Soon
One of the general manager’s jobs on an NFL team is to make roster decisions. Some of the decisions made will inevitably turn out to be mistakes, and over the past couple of years, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made what I believe to be a few mistakes.
Vikings’ Roster Decisions That Aged Poorly
I’m putting forward five players who I believe should have been kept on the roster but were allowed to leave during the last two offseasons. It’s a mix of star players, solid starters, and depth players who would all make the Vikings roster stronger if they were still around.
Danielle Hunter
During the 2024 offseason, the Vikings made an EDGE defender swap via free agency with the Houston Texans. After nine years in Minnesota, Danielle Hunter left for Texas, while the Vikings went younger and cheaper by bringing in Jonathan Greenard.
The move looked reasonable for Minnesota with both players having excellent debut seasons at their new teams. However, 2025 hasn’t gone so well for Greenard, who still played at a high level but couldn’t replicate his sack production from his previous two seasons, as his season ended early due to injury.
Meanwhile, Hunter has been outstanding for Houston, garnering second-team All-Pro recognition this year. Alongside Will Anderson, who received first-team All-Pro, the Texans have the deadliest edge duo in the league. Greenard is three years younger than Hunter, and the Vikings will hope longevity will pay off, but right now Hunter is still the better player.
Harrison Phillips
When the news broke that the Vikings had traded starting nose tackle Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets back in August, it caught those in the Vikings orbit by surprise. After trading away their best run defender and a seventh-round pick for a pair of sixth-rounders, Minnesota’s run defense struggled badly early in the 2025 season — making the move look even worse.
Brian Flores’ defense was good and kept the team competitive, but there was still plenty of room for Phillips on the roster even with the emergence of Jalen Redmond and the signings of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. The move still makes little sense to me.
Khyiris Tonga
Khyiris Tonga is a strong veteran run-stuffer who always did his job during two seasons in Minnesota. I expected him to be back for the 2024 season, but he ended up with the Arizona Cardinals instead. This season, he has made his way into the New England Patriots’ starting lineup and is seen as a key piece of their defense.
The Patriots have one of the best defenses in the league and will play in the AFC Championship game this week. Tonga has landed on his feet and even found a role for himself on offense as a fullback, something the Vikings no longer have with the retirement of C.J. Ham.
Camryn Bynum
With time running out on Harrison Smith’s career, it was an interesting decision to allow Camryn Bynum to leave the building. Not the Hitman looks set to retire, while Bynum went to Indianapolis and had another solid season, including a career high four interceptions.
Minnesota looks very short at safety heading into the offseason, and maybe the front office just wasn’t willing to match the four-year, $60 million contract Bynum got from the Colts. Now Adofo-Mensah needs to figure out a solution for a position that was a team strength a couple of years ago and could become a major weakness.
Mekhi Blackmon
Mekhi Blackmon didn’t leave as big a hole as the other players on this list, but giving up on a third-round pick after just two seasons, the second of which was lost to injury, has to raise eyebrows. Blackmon followed Bynum to the Colts and played in 17 games, including 11 starts. He didn’t set the league ablaze, but he stayed healthy and made a contribution.
The Vikings chose to bring in Jeff Okudah instead, who struggled and got injured — again. I’d have much rather seen the Vikings show some faith in their own Day 2 draft pick, who showed promise in his rookie season.
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