A Pair of Vikings Gambles Combined to Fail and Falter in 2025
Most of the attention has been on the struggles of J.J. McCarthy and then the oddly-timed firing of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Part of what’s missing from the conversation is a consideration of the other Vikings gamble that didn’t pay off.
Growing pains were to be expected for a 22-year-old passer coming off a lost rookie season. Accordingly, Adofo-Mensah reinforced the roster, most notably with enhancements for the trenches. The interior o-line got a complete renovation. Even better is that the defensive line saw enhancements added, as well. Tossing these new big fellas onto the roster was supposed to help bridge the gap that came from saying goodbye to the 2024 bridge starter who is now a franchise passer, Sam Darnold.
The Two Vikings Gambles that Failed
In some ways, Kevin O’Connell is at fault.
For too long, the head coach tasked Mr. McCarthy with doing too much. Burdening the sophomore with being the starting passer while also adjusting his mechanics just doesn’t make any sense. Almost everyone would falter under such a heavy strain.
Consider, as well, that the o-line was seldom healthy. The rare moments when the complete front five was out there quickly led to a new injury. Worse yet, the team just didn’t run the ball for a good portion of the year, an odd decision given the Jordan Mason add alongside the Aaron Jones retention.
But then there has been the reality of the pricey free-agent signings not living up to expectations.
Rolling with McCarthy meant expecting some moments when the passing attack isn’t as efficient as desired. Fair and predictable. The pivot was to invest in Ryan Kelly alongside Will Fries. Those two came over from the Colts, promising to clear running lanes while keeping the kid QB from getting slammed into the turf with too much regularity.
Even better is that the No. 24 selection got used on Donovan Jackson. Of the trio, the rookie was the most impressive, showing competence and upside while playing most of the season.
Meanwhile, the defensive line didn’t get the boost many expected even as money got sent out for well-known players.
Veteran DTs Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave had strong moments. Turn on the tape for Week 1 to see what the hope was when those two got added. Neither got to Caleb Williams with as much regularity as hoped — Williams is supremely elusive — but they were deeply disruptive. Replicating the early effort would have been a major boost to the Vikings as a whole.
By the end of the season, Allen and Hargrave had been lapped by Jalen Redmond as the most disruptive DT. That’s positive since Redmond looks like a long-term solution, but the two new DTs were supposed to be better than they were.
A recap.
The Vikings made an educated guess with J.J. McCarthy, a gamble that did materialize in some ways.
All along, the idea was that the McCarthy who stepped onto the field in September wouldn’t be as good as the McCarthy who stepped onto the field in December. A season of on-field reps and practice would do the young fella well, allowing him to soak up coaching as he acclimated to the life of an NFL quarterback who plays instead of recovers.
Fine, that’s a reasonable gamble to make, one predicated on growth from McCarthy over the season. Again, that did happen, at least to a certain extent.
That first Vikings gamble — trusting the quarterback to improve — fed into a different Vikings gamble: shoring up the roster in such a beefy manner that the team could overcome early foibles at the sport’s most important position.
In the end, both guesses were at least partly wrong. McCarthy’s floor (the low-end of his play) was worse than anticipated; McCarthy’s ceiling (the high-end of his play) wasn’t as sizzling as hoped. The same can be said of the pricey free-agent adds, as well.
A 9-8 record followed. Firing the GM followed.
The task now falls to Rob Brzezinski to lead the front office through free agency in March alongside the draft in April. Crushing these portions of the offseason could lead to securing the full-time GM position, but that remains to be seen.
Whoever takes over needs to account for a pair of missed gambles from 2025 that continue to hang over the franchise.
