This won't be an easy fix

After the 2022 season, Adofo-Mensah started shedding more contracts that no longer provided positive value. He moved on from franchise players who had been in Minnesota for years, like Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, and Eric Kendricks, to create cap salary cap space. He also continued to build a near-ideal environment for a quarterback of the future to grow in by drafting receiver Jordan Addison in the first round.

The Vikings have Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, two of the best tackles in the NFL. They have a superstar receiver in Jefferson, a Pro Bowl tight end in Hockenson, and another first-round receiver talent in Addison. Therefore, Adofo-Mensah has laid the groundwork for a franchise quarterback to thrive, and it appears all signs point toward the Vikings going in that direction in the 2024 draft. They decided not to extend Kirk Cousins before the 2023 season, the first time Cousins has played in a contract year in Minnesota. With his recent Achilles injury, it remains to be seen if the Vikings will re-sign Cousins. But Adofo-Mensah could bring him back if both sides are amenable to a return.

After Adofo-Mensah’s flurry of moves last offseason, the Vikings are now in the middle of the league in terms of salary cap space available in 2024, ranking 14th with over $38 million available. Of course, that will change if they can extend Jefferson. But Adofo-Mensah’s strategic decisions have created wiggle room.

While Adofo-Mensah has managed things well from the front office, O’Connell has been checking all the boxes as a head coach. In 2022, he showed tremendous trust in his players in crunch time, which paid big dividends. His pass-first offensive approach was the opposite of the previous regime’s philosophy. Nonetheless, it resulted in one of the best seasons of Cousins’ career. Minnesota’s 13-4 season created a winning culture that the players seem to have bought into.

In 2023, O’Connell’s coaching job might be even more impressive. Despite several crucial injuries, the Vikings remain steadily in the playoff hunt at 7-7. Jefferson and Cousins have missed most of the season, and Minnesota has started four quarterbacks. Most teams would throw in the towel; O’Connell has ensured that isn’t the case.

Perhaps the most important move O’Connell has made was moving on from Ed Donatell after last season and hiring Brian Flores to replace him. While Donatell’s defense was statistically poor, many head coaches would give a veteran coordinator like Donatell another chance after a 13-win season. But Flores has completely flipped the defensive performance with his radical defensive schemes and playcalling.

Regardless of how the next three games play out, the Vikings have a promising future under Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s leadership. They have laid the groundwork for success and instilled a winning culture despite facing adversity.

The dirty work of turning around a franchise is not glamorous. Often, it happens while the team itself is losing games. But Minnesota has managed to win games and rebuild for the future simultaneously. Just think what can happen when the team isn’t rebuilding.

Now is a great time for the Vikings faithful to buy back in because the stock price is about to soar.

Jefferson isn’t leaving because of the QB decision. That’s your Minnesota sports trauma talking. The NFL sets up the CBA for teams to keep their superstar first-round picks. If Jefferson truly wanted out, he would have to grind through two franchise tags first. No amount of skipping camp or making noise would compel the Vikings to let him walk.

And why do we think that only one quarterback on earth can throw Jefferson the ball? Did we not just see him single-handedly take over the game against the Lions despite the throwing stylings of Mullens? They scored on a 75-yard drive based only on passes to JJ and then he converted a third-and-27 by climbing the ladder like Anthony Edwards to make a grab. Nobody else can chuck passes his way without tossing four picks in the process?

None of this is to downplay Cousins’ ability as a quarterback. He has a 50-37-1 record and 101.2 QB rating since joining the Vikings. There are few humans walking around on the planet who can command an offense the way he can. By The Athletic’s poll of front office people and coaches last year, he was ranked as the 12th best QB in football.

But the NFL is as much about economics as it is talent. The Vikings’ front office has to weigh whether they can build a Super Bowl-caliber roster around another big contract and they have to project forward what a 36-year-old quarterback will be able to do going forward.

The less discussed part of the last two losses is that the Vikings’ defense has given up 57 points when tasked with playing against teams that have elite weapons. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins Moss’d them all over the field and Amon-Ra St. Brown racked up 12 receptions.

The leading pass rusher on the team, Danielle Hunter, has 72 QB pressures. The next best has just 38. Both players are free agents.

Jefferson and Hunter aren’t the only players who need contracts. Christian Darrisaw can be extended next offseason too.

Are they going to pay Dalton Risner? He has solidified the pass blocking in ways that no left guard has since… who even knows. Quality left guards cost $10 million-plus per year.

KJ Osborn is also a free agent. You might not think he’s Jake Reed but he has 46 catches for 531 yards this year. Maybe Brandon Powell could replace him but Powell is a free agent too.

The Vikings likely need help in the cornerback room and they could use another running back.

Is Harrison Smith retiring? If he does, they might prefer a veteran free agent to moving Josh Metellus out of the hybrid role.

Jordan Hicks is a free agent. He’s been terrific this year.

Jonathan Bullard is a free agent. He’s played 553 snaps on the D-line and solidified the run defense.

There is no doubt that Brian Flores has maximized the defense but if you look around the league’s top defenses they are filled with superstars. The Vikings 2017 defense had Pro Bowlers at defensive end (x2), linebacker (x2), cornerback and safety. It will be extremely difficult to stack up the defense without being able to spend outside of bargain shopping in free agency — just ask the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Vikings defenses.

It’s possible Cousins would be interested in taking a pay cut but there will be a number of teams that need a veteran quarterback next season. Specifically the Raiders, Falcons and Steelers could argue that they would have been contenders with legit QB play.

When it comes to the recent history of teams moving on from their quarterbacks, there are more hits than misses. The Eagles were criticized for drafting Jalen Hurts when they still had Carson Wentz. The Raiders were better off parting ways with Derek Carr. Seattle made the right choice in moving on from Russell Wilson. The 49ers made the right call letting Jimmy Garoppolo walk. The Packers did the right thing with Aaron Rodgers. The Falcons picked the correct time to trade Matt Ryan.

Going back a few years, the Chiefs Alex Smith to Mahomes transition worked out pretty well as did Buffalo going from Tyrod Taylor to Josh Allen and Baltimore letting go of Joe Flacco for Lamar Jackson.

Is it always the right move to part ways with an expensive veteran? Certainly not. The Lions are happy that they didn’t trade Jared Goff elsewhere after they struggled in 2021. The Cowboys have gotten the most out of Dak Prescott and lead the NFC in scoring. Los Angeles has restocked their roster around Matthew Stafford quickly and have fought their way back to the playoffs.

Make no mistake, the Vikings’ QB of the Future decision won’t be an easy one. With the bones on offense of a potential powerhouse, the wrong choice could get them stuck behind the other teams in the NFC North. The right choice could put them back in championship weekend.

Whether that right choice is Kirk Cousins or not is hard to say for certain. But the Vikings need to make that decision based on cost, projected performance, roster building and the chances they can turn a “competitive rebuild” club into a Super Bowl contender. They should not make that call as a reaction to watching journeyman quarterbacks struggle to recreate Cousins’ play.