{"id":814398,"date":"2026-03-16T00:02:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T00:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/814398\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T00:02:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T00:02:43","slug":"3-offseason-decisions-the-vikings-absolutely-got-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/814398\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Offseason Decisions the Vikings Absolutely Got Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first mighty domino has fallen in the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 offseason, as the main part of free agency<\/a> is over. Of course, Minnesota didn\u2019t do much in the first couple of days, until it netted its big-fish quarterback from the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n

Minnesota has made a few sharp moves already, with April still on deck.<\/p>\n

The offseason still has a long way to go, but here are the best decisions to date, and they\u2019re not too controversial.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Three Early Calls Already Strengthened Minnesota\u2019s Outlook<\/p>\n

Next stop? The draft<\/a> in less than six weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores watches the action from the sideline during first-half play against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on October 24, 2024, as Minnesota\u2019s defense works through adjustments during the interconference matchup. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

1. Retaining Brian Flores<\/p>\n

Had Flores walked \u2014 the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> interviewed for then-vacant head coaching jobs \u2014 the Vikings would\u2019ve started from scratch on defense during the Kyler Murray seasons. Keeping him paved the way for Minnesota to contend for the Super Bowl in 2026.<\/p>\n

Flores\u2019s defense became the driving force behind Minnesota\u2019s 2025 campaign, propelling them to nine wins after a rocky 4\u20138 start. This resurgence was largely due to Flores\u2019s scheme, which consistently manufactured pressure, created confusion, and generated favorable field position.<\/p>\n

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The overall statistics underscore Flores\u2019s impact. Over the past two seasons, Minnesota led the NFL in EPA per play allowed<\/a>. In 2025 alone, Flores\u2019 unit ranked third in EPA\/Play, trailing only the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans.<\/p>\n

Flores\u2019 coaching performance in Minnesota is impressive, as evidenced by the following rankings:<\/p>\n

1st in Pass Rush Win Rate<\/p>\n

4th in Defensive 3rd-Down Conversion Percentage<\/p>\n

The results speak volumes, and Minnesota rewarded Flores for the turnaround with a $6 million-per-year extension, signaling the team\u2019s belief that his defense is crucial to their future success.<\/p>\n

The newfound Murray-infused momentum would be tainted without Flores back in the saddle.<\/p>\n

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2. Firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah<\/p>\n

In four drafts, the Vikings only truly hit on about 5-6 rookies: Jordan Addison<\/a>, Will Reichard, Dallas Turner, Jalen Nailor, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and perhaps Donovan Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The verdict is still out on these men (or the verdict is just plain bad):<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about roughly a 20% success rate if the person counting is in a generous mood, calling Jackson and Drake Rodriguez<\/a> hits.<\/p>\n

The success rate was not conducive to Super Bowl team-building. And when Adofo-Mensah swung and missed on expensive free agents like Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen last offseason, well, the roster aged rather quickly and became less formidable.<\/p>\n

\"Kwesi<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on from the sideline during pregame warmups at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 14, 2025, as Minnesota prepares for kickoff during an early-season matchup on its home field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, that\u2019s all on top of letting Sam Darnold leave in free agency for a Lombardi trophy in Seattle. Adofo-Mensah had too many curiously bad decisions, on top of a dreadful draft record, to keep his job.<\/p>\n

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Minnesota needed a change, if only to give someone more competent a chance to draft players. The draft is the only place in sports for teams to get players for free.<\/p>\n

3. Signing Kyler Murray for $1.3 Million<\/p>\n

Across a 17-game sample, Murray averages about 4,000 passing yards, 600 rushing yards, and 30 total touchdowns, along with the fifth-most accurate completion percentage in NFL history.<\/p>\n

Yeah, the Vikings got that guy for cheaper than a long snapper\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

Murray grew up as a Vikings fan, so it wasn\u2019t difficult to woo him. Ultimately, though, Minnesota landed the perfect guy to partner with J.J. McCarthy this season, and a two-time Pro Bowler at that. The NFL considered Murray the single-hottest quarterback prospect in the world seven years ago; now that guy plays for the Vikings.<\/p>\n

\"Kyler<\/p>\n

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray escapes pressure and accelerates into open space during second-half action against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on December 28, 2024, extending the play with his trademark mobility as Arizona\u2019s offense searches for a spark late in the divisional matchup. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Josh Weinfuss on Murray to Minnesota<\/a>: \u201cMurray has a ton to prove. His time in Arizona was unfulfilled from both production and win standpoints. He has heard all the criticism over the years that he\u2019s too small or runs too much or doesn\u2019t run enough or can\u2019t win the big games \u00ff and he\u2019s ready to show the rest of the NFL that he can, indeed, be a productive quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cLosing as much as he has \u2014 38-48-1 in seven NFL seasons \u2014 hasn\u2019t been easy on Murray. Although he has become accustomed to the fact that losing is part of the NFL, he never got used to the act of losing. Murray wants to play for a team where he can win quickly and believe he has the infrastructure \u2014 on the field and organizationally \u2014 to do that, according to a source.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota pulled off an offseason masterclass<\/a> by getting Murray for the league\u2019s version of free. It\u2019s actually unbelievable that cosmos allowed Murray to shimmy to Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first mighty domino has fallen in the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 offseason, as the main part of free agency…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":814399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[22668,390,117,20538,6696,10652,28793,1490,1812,12073,7,1848,253,1519,3973,11820,6923,1824,9085,8265,2752,4827,23284,461,58,9737,15626,233,259,2529,6,26468,57,1878,261,1221,28797,7898,234,23890],"class_list":["post-814398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-akayleb-evans","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-brian-asamoah","tag-brian-flores","tag-dallas-turner","tag-dewayne-mcbride","tag-donovan-jackson","tag-ed-ingram","tag-esezi-otomewo","tag-football","tag-gavin-bartholomew","tag-houston-texans","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-jalen-nailor","tag-jaquelin-roy","tag-jaren-hall","tag-javon-hargrave","tag-jonathan-allen","tag-jordan-addison","tag-kobe-king","tag-kyler-murray","tag-levi-drake-rodriguez","tag-lewis-cine","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-mekhi-blackmon","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-nick-muse","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-sam-darnold","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-tai-felton","tag-ty-chandler","tag-vederian-lowe","tag-vikings","tag-will-reichard"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}