Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s 5-Item Checklist Leading Into Free Agency
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going to be a busy man. Heck, he’s already a busy man, but things will only intensify going forward.
Coming up are the combine, free agency, and draft. Deals will get signed and players will be cut. Controversial decisions will happen and there will be news conferences. The GM will need to be ready to navigate it all. And before free agency gets going, Adofo-Mensah will need to bring all of these items to at least partial completion.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s 5-Item Checklist
Item #1 — Decide on the Major Extension Candidates
Is there really anywhere else to start?
Failing to agree to a monstrous extension with Justin Jefferson would put Adofo-Mensah’s job in peril. The receiver is too important and too beloved to not get a deal that keeps him around for the vast majority of his 20s. Crucially, a new deal has the potential to free up close to $15 million in cap space for 2024. There’s no rule dictating that a deal must get done prior to free agency, but the longer things go the more unease will start to set in in Eagan (and more broadly).
And then there are still the Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter decisions. The QB looks likely to demand massive money once again. Meanwhile, Hunter may be moving toward his last chance at a huge contract, so expect him to leverage his career-best statistics to land a beefy deal.
The truly stunning strategy Adofo-Mensah could pursue is to let each of Cousins and Hunter hit free agency to let the market set their price. Maybe that would clarify what a reasonable deal would be, but that option would involve accepting massive dead money, so it’s very unlikely to be what occurs.
Item #2 — Decide on the Minor Extension Candidates
Cheating a bit by separating the extension options? Maybe, but the broader discussion around the Vikings has certainly prioritized the above-mentioned trio.
Below them are key contributors who will be considered to either lower their cap hit or keep them from hitting free agency. The 28-year-old Harrison Phillips stands out since he’s moving into the final season of his contract and has a cap charge approaching $9 million, but there are others.
Shaving money off of Byron Murphy’s $10.9 million cap charge would make sense. The corner is only 26.
Jordan Hicks and D.J. Wonnum could be brought back to keep some continuity within the front seven. Brandon Powell is an excellent WR4 and super steady as a punt returner. Keeping Blake Brandel seems like a good way of reinforcing a thin o-line position.
Item #3 — Work Through the Cut/Cut List
In an effort to save cap space, Adofo-Mensah will be cutting some players. With some guys, though, the GM will likely consider a pay cut before a roster cut.
Of course, that scenario requires two to tango. Both player and team would need to agree on adjusting the deal (like Chris Reed and Jordan Hicks last season). The obvious name here is Harrison Smith since he’s a franchise legend who has worked through three different coaching staffs and will someday have his number retired.
Today is his birthday, though, meaning he’s now up to 35 and will see his cap hit soar to more than $19.2 million. Neither number is doing him any favors. The inexorable march of time bows to no man (as they say), a truth that applies even to The Hitman. So, the age can’t get adjusted but the contract can, so that’s an area that will need to give if Smith is to continue being employed by Minnesota.
Other cut/cut candidates are Dean Lowry, Alexander Mattison, C.J. Ham, and Nick Mullens (among others).
Item #4 — Strategize About How Free Agency and the Draft Will Work Together
Being successful in free agency means having a strong understanding of the talent that’s available in the draft.
Teams have two main ways of bringing talent onto a roster: free agency and the draft. Each side has its benefits and drawbacks, but they work in tandem to (ideally) give a team all the talent it needs to make a push for the Super Bowl.
Minnesota has some glaring needs and then some wants/desires. Knowing what holes can be patched with young, cost-controlled talent in the draft will help them better navigate how to work through the NFL’s free agent frenzy.
Obviously, this process takes place behind the scenes and will only get clarified as the two events unravel.
Item #5 — Put on the Vulture Wings and Call the Teams in Cap Peril
When a team’s budget is on life support, the vultures start to circle.
Truthfully, the tactic is more common in the NHL where contracts are basically guaranteed. Team A needs to move salary out to be able to function so Team B, C, and D start tossing in low-ball offers take a bloated contract off of Team A’s hands. Oftentimes, the acquiring team can even get a sweetener — a draft pick — for making a bad contract disappear.
Now, the NFL is fundamentally different since so little of a contract can be guaranteed. Whereas an NHL team can be held hostage, an NFL team has more options when it comes to freeing up cap space.
Even still, Adofo-Mensah should make a phone call or two. The Saints ($84M in the red), Dolphins ($52M in the red), Bills ($51M in the red), and Chargers ($46M in the red) are in dire straits financially. These teams will be moving on from some excellent talent as they get their budget buttoned up. Just as a coordinator identifies a weak link on the opposing team and goes into attack mode, so too should a general manager identify teams with poor cap situations and move into attack mode.
In March of 2023, the NFL offered up eleven trades (including one that sent Jalen Ramsey to Miami). Does Kwesi hop into the fun this year as an outside-of-the-box way of meeting a roster need? He has pulled off nineteen trades in his career.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
