The Minnesota Vikings are 11-2. Most sportsbooks had their preseason win total at 6.5.
Last March, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had one of the best free agency months in recent NFL history. First, he finally said no to the endless string of bad Kirk Cousins contracts. No more being held hostage cap-wise by a non-elite QB.
Secondly -- to much scrutiny -- he signed Sam Darnold as a bridge QB before drafting JJ McCarthy. Darnold has *massively* outplayed Cousins this season. This swap, on its own, is a decisive W.
Then, with the cap savings from Cousins' contract, Kwesi signed Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Aaron Jones, Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin -- and he pushed a huge % of the accounting for these six key starters into 2025, when Cousins' dead money is finally off the books.
Kwesi also used this newfound cap freedom to sign Justin Jefferson to a historic long-term contract.
Even with all of these impactful moves, the Vikings still have top-5 cap space headed into 2025 and a first-round draft pick.