Since taking over as general manager of the Minnesota Vikings in early 2022, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made 34 trades – the third most during that stretch, league-wide. He’s never been shy about picking up the phone, and for the past three seasons, he has made at least one deal at the buzzer. So when the trade deadline came and went on Tuesday without a peep, buzz, or ring, something felt missing.
Each of the last three trade deadlines saw Adofo-Mensah work his magic to craft a deal. In 2022, he brought in T.J. Hockenson. In 2023, it was the Passtronaut, Josh Dobbs. And finally, last year, offensive tackle Cam Robinson came aboard after Christian Darrisaw‘s injury. With Adofo-Mensah’s history, a big momentum-shifting win against the Detroit Lions, and still some holes on the roster, it seemed the NFL world had agreed that the Vikings would be buyers again.
However, a deal never came together this time. It’s fair to wonder whether the reason was confidence in the current roster or something else more unsettling.
The Vikings almost certainly made and received calls. It’s impossible to say how close to a deal the team actually came, but it was fairly surprising that the Vikings stood pat. The obvious rationale is that the team is finally getting healthy. In recent weeks, Minnesota saw the returns of J.J. McCarthy, Andrew Van Ginkel, Aaron Jones, and Brian O’Neill. The team had limped through the first half of the year, and now things are finally starting to settle down.
Still, that’s not to say the roster is now perfect. While the defense looked stout in Detroit last Sunday, cornerback depth remains a concern for fans.
Beyond starters Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers, the play from backup Jeff Okudah hasn’t inspired, and the Vikings may have better luck throwing an orange cone from the equipment van out onto the field instead. Okudah has a 32.4 PFF grade – yes, they can get that low, apparently – and hasn’t shown any ability to come in and start if needed. So it remains a bit confusing as to why the wheeling-and-dealing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t toss out a mid-round pick for an Alontae Taylor or a Riq Woolen.
Maybe the price was too high, or the right players simply weren’t available, but could it be that a few recent trades gone wrong have put some doubt into Adofo-Mensah’s head? After the league suspended wide receiver Jordan Addison, the Vikings — can we all agree? — panicked. They shipped off a fourth- and a fifth-round pick for hometown hero Adam Thielen, and have yet to get back anything close to that value in return. Thielen has only five catches for 47 yards this season and has become less involved each week.
It wasn’t franchise-altering capital to give up, and absolutely no one in Minnesota was disappointed to bring back a fan-favorite. Still, it feels like Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings rushed into a decision that was bigger than it needed to be. The sky was falling for the Vikings, who would’ve been without a WR3 for the first few weeks of the season. Now, perhaps they are without an obvious CB3 either. But this time, Adofo-Mensah didn’t take the bait and instead stood firm.
It’s also easy to forget that Minnesota is still sitting last in the division at 4-4, and by no means has an easy path to the postseason from here. While a shiny, new corner would have instilled some more confidence that they’ll have some insurance, it’s hard to dump more picks into a season that realistically still is a long shot to make the playoffs. Despite the big win on Sunday, the Vikings still sit at just a 13% chance, according to ESPN’s FPI.
A possible free-agent addition isn’t out of the question now, and names like Asante Samuel Jr. have already flooded into Minnesota’s social media. It’s fair to assume that if the secondary continues to struggle or an injury pops up, they’ll explore all those options. But for the first time in the Adofo-Mensah era, it won’t be a trade that brings in a new player mid-season. Ideally, though, the reason the Vikings didn’t make a deal is that one just never made sense, and not because they’ve started to second-guess their aggressive nature.
The trade deadline streak is now over, and in a year, fans thought it surely would continue, no less. But Adofo-Mensah took a more measured approach this time around and decided against navigating the choppy waters of adding a player mid-season. It could be that the team loves the current roster or is too weary to push all their chips into 2025. Either way, it was probably the most prudent decision, and one that showed Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings can see through the fans’ master plan. I guess this is growing up.