Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. No, I am not going to talk about tarrifs or anything else like that. I am talking about going with overspending on experienced veterans in free agency, as opposed to paying a slight premium for underdeveloped players with upside. The 2025 Minnesota Vikings are giving off the vibes of the 2015 Indianapolis Colts to some NFL executives.
After reading the Minnesota blurb in Mike Sando's latest for The Athletic ($), my perennial pessimistic views on all things Vikings have been reinvigorated just a bit. I may have whiffed on my thoughts concerning Sam Darnold and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last year, but this is, has and always will be a long-term play for me. Admittedly, I was stunned to see some of the quotes that Sando got for this project.
This quote was said in response to the Vikings signing Jonathan Allen, Will Fries and Javon Hargrave.
“It’s like the 2015 Colts all over again, signing older guys who have been hurt, who are on third or fourth contracts."
The same front office executive followed with this bit, based on what he saw happen in Indianapolis.
“You cannot build a team with old players, especially old players who have been cut because they were hurt."
This comes on the heels of me finally realizing that Ryan Grigson is in this Minnesota front office.
“There is no more fascinating team than Minnesota because they have 13- and 14-win seasons over the past three years but no playoff win to show for it and only one division title. The head coach seems like a difference maker, a multiplier. If Kwesi does not get a new deal, would they just promote [Ryan] Grigson? It’s fascinating.”
Grigson infamously gave a boatload of money to aging veterans like Trent Cole, Frank Gore, Andre Johnson and Kendall Langford in free agency way back in 2015. That was the season after the DeflateGate scandal. Indianapolis has been to the AFC playoffs a handful of times since then, but has yet to win the AFC South it used to dominate since Grigson chose to build his team in that manner.
The really weird part in this is other executives are not sure of Minnesota is all-in on Adofo-Mensah.
Not everyone is a fan of the Minnesota Vikings' offseason for one reason
Although co-owner Mark Wilf claims to have had great conversations about putting together another contract for Adofo-Mensah to stay on as the general manager, that remains to be seen. Will the dollars and cents make sense? Regardless, it is surprising to see Grigson have this much influence, especially on a team that has so much uncertainty regarding the most important position on the field.
Adofo-Mensah has been an inconsistent drafter. While head coach Kevin O'Connell can do no wrong, it should be noted that having an overqualified defensive coordinator in Brian Flores has allowed for the team to take bigger risks with aging veterans in free agency. Flores does not like younger players, so maybe this plays a part in it? Again, this all comes down to if J.J. McCarthy can play in the league.
I may be one of the biggest McCarthy critics out there, but that may be more to do with him having the longest runway to go of any of the other first-round quarterbacks last year. The other five all enter their second seasons in the league as unquestioned starters. With Minnesota somewhat playing flirt with Aaron Rodgers, what does it say about McCarthy's upside or Adofo-Mensah's talent evaluation?
To best tie a bow on this, I am not getting the sense of clarity out of the Vikings organization that I was hoping for. This team has shown an innate ability to win 12 or more games quite often in a given regular season, yet there always seems to be some sort of disconnect in the postseason. It may come down to coaching. It may come down to culture. Frankly, it may be coming down to personnel.
I would be foolish to cross the Vikings off as a playoff team in 2025, but we may see a slight downtick.