The Vikings Roster Tug of War Between Rick Spielman & Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Very quietly, the Vikings roster has been flipping over.

For a long time, Rick Spielman was the architect. He was employed in Minnesota between 2006-21, a 15-year span that underscores his importance to recent Vikings history. On January 26, 2022, the Vikings opted to sign Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as Spielman’s replacement. A young executive with a forward-looking approach, Adofo-Mensah has been hard at work reshaping the team.

The tug-of-war piece is a continuation of some of my previous offseason work for PurplePTSD. First, there was the complete Kwesi Adofo-Mensah trade tracker. Second, there was the Vikings’ draft pick outlook for the next three years.

Next up is a humble attempt to further guide reader understandings about where this franchise finds itself. Similar to the previous pair of articles, the GM-to-GM piece is meant to be a resource I can return to with updates as we learn more in the comings weeks, months, and years.

Essentially, all I’m doing is putting Minnesota’s players into three categories. The first part simply highlights the true carryovers, the players brought in by Spielman who haven’t had their deals adjusted but are still on the Vikings roster. The second part considers players brought in by Slick Rick before having their deals redone by Kwesi & Friends (restructure, extension, etc.). Finally, there is the third and final portion: the players whom Kwesi Adofo-Mensah brought aboard all on his own. As you’ll see, there’s no Spielman influence on the majority of the team’s offseason roster.

Somewhat stunningly, the only position to have completely erased the former regime is corner. Just think back to how much emphasis there was on constantly acquiring corners while Mike Zimmer partnered with Spielman. In just 439 days as GM, Adofo-Mensah completely redid the position. The only other position without some Spielman influence is punter. Last season, UDFA Ryan Wright took over the job (for the most part, performing admirably).

Keep in mind that the 53-man roster will get things closer to balanced between Spielman and Adofo-Mensah. Much of the GM-to-GM discrepancy stems from all of the UDFAs and veteran depth signings that have occurred recently. In a lot of instances, being a Spielman addition doesn’t matter for the final cuts. Someone like Justin Jefferson has a far higher chance of sticking around than someone like Malik Knowles (and that’s no insult to Knowles). As a result, the 90-man roster offers a more pronounced difference than what the 53-man roster will.

Once again, I’ll note my human frailty, failings, and foibles. Errors could very plausibly be hidden in some of the smalls details. If you spot something that needs fixing, let me know on Twitter (@VikingsGazette).

Oh, and a shout out to Over the Cap for helping to confirm my memory and/or undercut the errors for a couple of the players. Readers looking for more info on the overall roster can take a peak at the PurplePTSD Vikings depth chart or hop over to the Vikings roster on the team website.

The Vikings Roster: GM to GM

Spielman’s Men

1. Brandel, Blake – Offensive Tackle
2. Bynum, Camryn – Safety
3. Cleveland, Ezra – Guard
4. Darrisaw, Christian – Offensive Tackle
5. Dye, Troy – Linebacker
6. Jefferson, Justin – Wide Receiver (5th-Year Option Picked Up)
7. Jones, Patrick – Edge Rusher
8. Lynch, James – Defensive Tackle
9. Nwangwu, Kene – Running Back/Kirk Returner
10. O’Neill, Brian – Offensive Tackle
11. Osborn, K.J. – Wide Receiver
12. Wonnum, D.J. – Edge Rusher

Shared Players

1. Bradbury, Garrett – Center
2. Cousins, Kirk – Quarterback
3. DePaola, Andrew – Long Snapper
4. Ham, C.J. – Fullback
5. Hunter, Danielle – Edge Rusher
6. Joseph, Greg – Kicker
7. Mattison, Alexander – Running Back
8. Metellus, Josh – Safety
9. Smith, Harrison – Safety
10. Udoh, Oli – Offensive Tackle

Adofo-Mensah’s Men

1. Addison, Jordan – Wide Receiver
2. Aho, Junior – Edge Rusher
3. Akers, Cam – Running Back
4. Asamoah, Brian – Linebacker
5. Blackmon, Mekhi – Corner
6. Booth Jr., Andrew – Corner
7. Bullard, Jonathan – Defensive Tackle
8. Carter II, Andre – Edge Rusher
9. Chandler, Ty – Running Back
10. Cine, Lewis – Safety
11. Davenport, Marcus – Edge Rusher
12. Hall, Jaren – Quarterback
13. Hicks, Jordan – Linebacker
14. Hockenson, T.J. – Tight End
15. Ingram, Ed – Guard
16. Jackson, Theo – Safety
17. Lowry, Dean – Defensive End
18. Mullens, Nick – Quarterback
19. Mundt, Johnny – Tight End
20. Murphy Jr., Byron – Corner
21. Muse, Nick – Tight End
22. Nailor, Jalen – Wide Receiver
23. Oliver, Josh – Tight End
24. Pace Jr., Ivan – Linebacker
25. Phillips, Harrison – Defensive Tackle
26. Powell, Brandon – Wide Receiver/Punt Returner
27. Quessenberry, David – Offensive Tackle
28. Reed, Chris – Interior Offensive Lineman
29. Risner, Dalton – Interior Offensive Lineman
30. Roy, Jaquelin – Defensive Tackle
31. Schlottmann, Austin – Center
32. Thompson, NaJee – Corner
33. Tonga, Khyiris – Defensive Tackle
34. Ward, Jay – Defensive Back
35. Wright, Ryan – Punter

Editor’s Note: Last updated on Wednesday, September 27th, 2023.

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