Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah probably didn’t expect to be in a full-on rebuilding situation, but he might soon learn he doesn’t have a choice given the team’s dire salary cap circumstances.
On Wednesday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported the Vikings were “eager to move big contracts and reset their cap.”
That’s a completely different conversation than fans hoped the new regime would be having at this point. Let’s be honest, many expected things to remain mostly intact with enough upgrades to turn the team back into a playoff contender. Some actually believed the new general manager would just waltz right into the job and get things back on track without making any serious waves.
Maybe even Adofo-Mensah hoped that would be the case as well.
Continue to hear from NFL execs that the @Vikings are eager to move big contracts and reset their cap/payroll. A Kirk Cousins trade would not surprise me at this point. Still plenty of needy teams. QB would need QB to extend contract. Stay tuned
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 10, 2022
We’re clearly nearing the point where cheers turn to boos, lavish praise turns to anger and the confetti parade that welcomed a new era in Minnesota turns to tears. Adofo-Mensah is about to learn just how quickly the honeymoon stage ends the moment he starts making the tough decisions.
Free agency is less than a week away, and Kirk Cousins is still slated to be the third-highest cap hit among quarterbacks in the NFL. The team is also $15 million over the salary cap with multiple roster spots to be filled and several pricey contracts needing revisiting.
In the coming weeks, there’s a chance the Vikings could look unrecognizable.
Cousins’ contract is obviously a huge factor considering he gives the team the best chance at competing for a championship. Unless the Vikings somehow swing a trade for Houston Texans’ troubled quarterback Deshaun Watson, assuming he’s even available, there’s no chance of contending for the next one or possibly even two years.
So in a sense, the inability to extend Cousins could have a domino effect on other players.
Why would the Vikings continue hording exorbitant contracts if the team isn’t in a position to compete for a Super Bowl? Why miss out on an opportunity to stockpile draft picks for the future—or at the very least, clear out significant cap space?
This is the scenario that could lead to the departures of many fan favorites, such as Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, Eric Kendricks, Harrison Smith and Danielle Hunter.
Of course, the team would likely prefer the scenario of Cousins agreeing to a reduced salary to help them put the pieces around him to contend for a Super Bowl. But that ship might have sailed for the 33-year-old quarterback that has a habit of leveraging himself into a position to maximize his contract at the negotiating table.
A rebuild isn’t what anyone asked for or even wanted to happen, but it might be the one thing the Vikings need— a cleansing of the pallet for a team that no longer needs to live on past miracles.
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