Vikings GM Has Been Hard at Work Rebuilding Team’s Middle Class

Notably, Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has only a trio of Vikings carrying cap charges that surpass $10 million in 2024: RT Brian O’Neill ($23M), TE T.J. Hockenson ($14M), and CB Byron Murphy Jr. ($10.9M).
Every other player is down below the notable threshold.
Now, there’s some nuance needed. Justin Jefferson is seeing his cap charge in 2024 come in at roughly $8.6 million because it’s backloaded in a major way. Before long, he’ll be commanding cap hits that resemble QB money. So, too, will Christian Darrisaw see his cap charges get a boost and Jonathan Greenard’s four-year, $76 million deal begins with a modest cap hit. Even still, the overall approach is evident: assemble a lot of good players while kicking the can down the road with the elite ones.
The Vikings GM and Minnesota’s Middle Class
Toss a bit more nuance into the mix.
Currently, the Vikings are working on digesting north of $57 million in dead cap space. That’s a major reason why the team is so light on players clearing the $10 million threshold. Underneath that monstrous dead money mountain is Kirk Cousins’ $28.5 million in dead cap and then Danielle Hunter’s, which is close to $15 million.

One thinks, though, of a decision Minnesota didn’t make as being illustrative of the point.
Going into free agency, DT Christian Wilkins looked like a top target for Minnesota. He plays a position of need and offers elite production. He has a connection to Brian Flores, too. The issue? He became a Raider, not a Viking.
After the meat and potatoes of free agency took place, Kevin O’Connell even alluded to missing on a DT in free agency, a brief word that may be connected to the former Dolphin.
Las Vegas landed the stud defender for a four-year pact that tips the scales at $110 million. Nothing middle class about that deal, folks. Minnesota’s four-year, $76 million deal for Greenard looks much more modest in comparison.

In 2024, Wilkins is coming in at a $10.3 million cap charge. From 2025 onward, the number soars to being above $30 million (and that’s even with the edge getting taken off with a void year in 2028).
Meanwhile, the Vikings GM is moving ahead with a lead defensive tackle in Harrison Phillips who is going into the final season of his three-year deal from back in 2022. Horrible Harry is seeing the largest cap hit of that agreement hit the books, but it still comes in at just $8.83 million.
The Vikings have seven players in the $5,000,000 to $9,999,999 range for 2024 cap hits: Phillips, Jefferson, Harrison Smith, Josh Oliver, Garrett Bradbury, Jonathan Greenard, and Sam Darnold.

Move down a bit further and there’s a massive cluster of players in the $1,500,000 to $4,999,999 range. Guys like Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Brandon Powell, Johnny Mundt, Blake Brandel, Jordan Addison, Blake Cashman, and C.J. Ham (among others) are within this range.
Again, there are reasons for all of this. The dead money is a factor and players like Darrisaw, Greenard, and Jefferson will soon see their cap hits explode. Even still, another major factor is that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been trying to create a strong middle class on his team.
The Vikings are working with roughly $26 million in cap space, a number that’s going to decrease once J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner sign their deals.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.

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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.