But if you take insider reports and executive quotes at face value, it’s clear the Vikings are approaching this offseason with a win-now mentality. That will mean stretching a tight budget, moving money around and making smart, productive signings.

So when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stepped up to the podium for his annual pre-combine press conference, media members prodded the Vikings’ general manager trying to find hints into what his plans are to shape and reconstruct this roster.

Of course, Kwesi wasn’t going to approach the microphone with a “keep/cut list” to show the masses. But he did give us a lot of insight into what his plans are, both in what he said and what he didn’t say.

Kirk Cousins is good enough.

The topic of Kirk Cousins’ future came up early, as expected. Will the Vikings extend Kirk or play him on his expiring contract for this season? How desperate is Kwesi to find the next quarterback for his football team?

Well, Adofo-Mensah was honest. He didn’t dub Cousins as “elite” or confess his love for the starting QB. Instead, he talked about two quarterback tiers. QBs who can help a team go to the Super Bowl and QBs who cannot. Kirk Cousins, the GM says, “meets that (Super Bowl) threshold, we know that”.

#Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah voiced his confidence in Kirk Cousins when asked about evaluating the QB position at the NFL Combine: pic.twitter.com/U4PmVjxpnf

— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) February 28, 2023

Recent reports from Tom Pelissero (NFL Network) say the Vikings will either sign Cousins long term or they will ride out the final year of his current deal. No more one-year extensions.

Justin Jefferson extension is high priority.

Technically, the Minnesota Vikings do not have to extend Justin Jefferson until next offseason. But Kwesi & Co aren’t going to wait for Earth to travel around the Sun one more time. Nah, the Vikings are ready to put JJ in purple for the foreseeable future ASAP and it’s clear that’ll be one of the first dominoes to fall this offseason.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Jefferson and Cousins’ extensions both happen in close time proximity to one another.

Listened to Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s combine presser from here in Minnesota. Highlights via thread:

1/No surprise, but he called a contract extension with Justin Jefferson a “high priority” and added: “I don’t want to be the Vikings’ GM without that guy on our team.”

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 28, 2023

Non-Committal on Dalvin Cook

When asked directly about Dalvin Cook’s future, Kwesi was non-committal. He stayed away from what Cook has provided the Vikings on the field, deciding instead to highlight the type of person Dalvin is.

Recently, reports have surfaced saying Cook is not willing to take the type of paycut he will have to if he wants to remain a Viking. On Monday, Cook’s agent took to Instagram to complain about how often his client gets the football with Kevin O’Connell scheming and play-calling the offense.

All signs point to a divorce coming between Cook and the Vikings.

2/ No direct answer when asked if he anticipated RB Dalvin Cook would remain on the roster. Noted “great player and great leader” but “in the NFL, you have a lot of constraints, salary cap different things, and we’re trying to figure out how we can operate in those things.”

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 28, 2023

Goodbye Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks

The easiest way for the Minnesota Vikings to find cap space and lose as little as possible on the field is at the middle linebacker position. Both of the team’s MLBs last season, Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, played terribly last season.

Kendricks never appeared comfortable in a 3-4 scheme and Jordan Hicks provided little of the stability he was supposed to when signed prior to the season. If the Vikings move on from both players, they’d save about $15 million against the cap next season.

Kwesi made it obvious on Tuesday, by what he didn’t say, that both Kendricks and Hicks won’t be on roster much longer. When discussing the linebacker position, the Vikings GM mentioned Brian Asamoah, Troy Dye and Will Kwenkeu (who?) but never once mentioned Kendricks or Hicks.

When asked about the linebacker position at the NFL Combine, #Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah mentioned Brian Asamoah, Troy Dye, and even Will Kwenkeu.

Not a word about Eric Kendricks or Jordan Hicks, who are both under contract for 2023. pic.twitter.com/jv0W26bBeK

— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) February 28, 2023

Bring Tomlinson back, affinity for Flores

A couple other notes include the Vikings’ hopes to sign Dalvin Tomlinson to a contract extension. This isn’t a surprise, given the two sides agreed last week to move his void date from February to mid-March.

Kwesi was also asked about new defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, who he clearly has high hopes for.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah raved this morning about the Brian Flores hiring.

“He has a really extensive personnel background, so it’s not just about the players we draft this year or in free agency, it’s about reshaping our vision for the roster going forward.”

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) February 28, 2023

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

(Featured Image: Dave Berding – Getty Images)

But on Wednesday morning, Field Yates (ESPN) is reporting that the Vikings and Tomlinson reached an agreement to extend that deadline from February 20 to March 15, allowing the two sides to continue extension talks without that $7.5 million in dead cap hitting the books.

Vikings DT Dalvin Tomlinson’s deal was set to void in recent days, which would have pushed $7.5M of dead money onto their 2023 cap. The team & Tomlinson agreed to move the void date to 3/15. This buys more time for a possible extension that avoids all $7.5M hitting the 2023 cap.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 22, 2023

This news makes me believe that Tomlinson is more likely to sign an extension in Minnesota, than he is to leave for free agency. If signing Dalvin Tomlinson wasn’t Kwesi Adofo-Mansah’s priority, there would have been no point in extending the void deadline.

Dead cap money doesn’t just go away, even if the Vikings bring Tomlinson back. It does, however, allow Kwesi to push $5 million of that penalty into the future.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson off to Free Agency

Sure, Patrick Peterson’s dead cap number for next season is just $750K, so it’s possible we see him return after testing free agency. The same cannot be said about Tomlinson. In his case, the Vikings would have worked out a new contract prior to his fat $7.5 million dead cap charge officially hitting the books.

Luke Braun (Locked on Vikings, Patreon) was first to bring attention to Tomlinson and Peterson’s expiring contracts. His findings were confirmed by Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) shortly after.

The language in Tomlinson’s contract says his deal voids if he is still on the roster on the 23rd day preceding the new league year, which begins on March 15. So yes, that would be today. https://t.co/7ZkUgwEs0t

— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) February 20, 2023

Pretty safe, I think. If they wanted him back, was way more efficient to negotiate that right away after the season ended. Flores might want more of a true pass rusher next to Phillips.

Bummer! https://t.co/EurtScswmy

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) February 20, 2023

What’s next?

Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson were two of the best defensive players on the Vikings roster last season and many fans hoped they’d be back. Peterson is certainly past his prime but he’s competent, affordable and a reunion is still possible.

Tomlinson, on the other hand, is 29-years-old and still playing high-level football. He will be one of the most-coveted interior defensive linemen available in free agency and count $7.5 million against the Minnesota Vikings salary cap, no matter where he ends up.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Nobody inside of the Vikings organization, specifically Mike Zimmer, wanted to see Alvin Kamara score six touchdowns on their defense again. But unfortunately, their effort to build back their high-level (or even competent) run defense has been dramatically unsuccessful through six games.

The Numbers

With or without Michael Pierce, who’s spent half the season injured and who’s unlikely to play again Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings have LOOKED especially bad against opposing rush attacks for most of the season. Through six games, Minnesota’s defense has yet to hold an opposing team under 100 yards rushing. And with Dallas in town this weekend, that streak will likely continue.

Here are some other defensive rankings/statistics that will depress you. where the Vikings rank as a team for run defense.

• 17th in opponent rush attempts per game (26.7)
• 26th in rushing yards allowed per game (128.0)
• 29th in yards allowed per rush attempt (4.8)

The Dallas Cowboys are coming to US Bank Stadium for Sunday Night Football and there’s no doubt they’ll run the ball. They’ve been trampling all over opposing defenses this season and, if he plays, Dak Prescott isn’t expected to be anywhere near 100%. Ezekiel Elliott (521 YDS, 5 TD, 5.1 YPC) has led the way but backup, Tony Pollard (366 YDS, 1 TD, 6.0 YPC), has looked even better than Zeke at times.

Together, they’ve been borderline unstoppable.

• 3rd in rush attempts per game.
• 2nd in rush yards per game.
• 3rd in rush yards per attempt.

But, there’s hope.

Sensible thinking would tell us that Minnesota will struggle to stop the Dallas’ run game on Sunday night but there’s reason for optimism. Zimmer’s new run defense has underperformed so far, but they’ve gotten better as the year has gone on.

It doesn’t look like Michael Pierce will play but Anthony Barr practiced in full on Thursday, meaning he should be on the field for only the second game in a row. But even without Pierce, the Vikings defense has improved their defense every week.

In the last few games, the Vikings defense has been on the field less, partially because they have forced more 3rd downs and forced stops on most of them. PFF says they’ve steadily improved in all defensive categories, as the season has progressed. That includes tackling, pass rush and coverage. They’ve raised their overall grade from the 50’s and 60’s in weeks 1-5 to the high 70’s and low 80’s the last two weeks.

But their rush defense grade, specifically, has improved on itself every single week. Quite interesting.

Everything about the #Vikings defense has improved as the season has gone on but (per @PFF) the run has been a specifically smooth curve upward.

53.6 – wk 1
56.9 – wk 2
57.0 – wk 3
62.7 – wk 4
68.0 – wk 5
79.4 – wk 6

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 29, 2021

The Horses

The Minnesota Vikings have the horses to stop the run and play good overall defense, even without Michael Pierce. And as we’ve seen with the improving numbers, Rick Spielman’s offseason quest can’t be judged quite yet.

Dalvin Tomlinson is known for his ability to stop opposing running backs. He’s 6’3″, 315 pounds and has never had a season where PFF graded his rush defense less than 70. For three of his five seasons, he’s hovered around an 80 grade. For context, there are only six defensive tackles in the NFL above an 80 run grade this season.

If Michael Pierce has to sit out and Armon Watts gets the start again the Vikings should be alright. He’s been forced into the starting lineup the last two weeks and the defense has still continued its trend upward. Watts is having a career year. We’ll see if his production (36 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 FF and 18 QB hurries) is sustainable.

It’s about time the run defense starts to produce

The second level of the Minnesota Vikings defense needs to be better too. Anthony Barr has only played in two games this season and doesn’t have a tackle for loss since 2019. He needs to stay healthy and play better if he wants to get another payday this offseason.

Eric Kendricks has also been largely disappointing too, given what the expectations he’s set. His 64.9 PFF grade against the run ranks 49th out of 82 qualified linebackers. That’s not good enough.

The talent needed to stop opposing rush attacks are on roster and they’re being led by a defensive mastermind, in Mike Zimmer. There is no reason this group should be near the bottom of the league in any defensive rushing categories.

It won’t be easy, but if they can slow down the Dallas Cowboys in primetime on Sunday night, the Vikings probably move to 4-3 on the season and I’ll bet others start to recognize the same improvement all of the numbers already show.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

It took a bit longer than expected but the Minnesota Vikings have finally made an outside signing on the first day of the legal tampering period. His name is Dalvin Tomlinson and he’s a 27-year-old starting defensive tackle who spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants. He started all 64 games for the G-Men in that time.

.@DalvinTomlinson – – > @Vikings ???? #LegendsLiveHere #Skol pic.twitter.com/1Oj1WKqDNS

— SportsTrust Advisors (@_SportsTrust) March 16, 2021

Source: Dalvin Tomlinson to #Vikings
2 years, $22M
$20M total guarantee
$16M fully guaranteed
$15M Signing Bonus
$16M First Year

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2021

The Vikings are still rostering Shamar Stephen but can save a few million dollars against the 2021 cap if the release him. We’ll see if that happens over the next couple of days. Tomlinson was a full-time starter in New York so I’d expect he signed for that same role here in Minnesota.

That would mean he lines up next to yet-to-be-seen Michael Pierce this season. Spielman will still be on the lookout for an edge rusher, cornerback and safety to fill the remaining holes on this Minnesota Vikings defense, but this should be a step in the right direction.

What they’re saying

Tomlinson is known as a run-stopping nose-tackle, much like Michael Pierce. No matter, Zimmer apparently plans on playing both.

Vikings expect to hav Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson in the mix for 2021. Tomlinson was strong against the run for the Giants, an area the Vikings are striving to improve. He lined up for NYG at nose 287 snaps last year but I'm told that won't affect where MIN wants Pierce.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 16, 2021

New #Vikings DT Dalvin Tomlinson was second on Giants DL w/ 656 snaps [60.3%] last season; played mostly run downs, both over center and outside of guard; career-high 28 pressures last year, per @PFF pic.twitter.com/uOrjYVgnGq

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) March 16, 2021

The #Vikings adding Dalvin Tomlinson doesn’t affect their plans for Michael Pierce, from what I understand. They’re planning to use them both.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) March 16, 2021

The Vikings defensive tackle group is either nose tackles or guys who played on the edge in college

— Arif Hasan, in like a lion???? (@ArifHasanNFL) March 16, 2021

For two years, I've been hollering about the #Vikings run defense. It needed to be a top priority! Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce will be a solid interior DL duo. I love it. https://t.co/ZAj24ljZGC

— Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL) March 16, 2021

Another late-night signing

Rick Spielman must be more of a night owl because this Tomlinson deal isn’t the only one he’s verbally inked tonight. The Vikings have also agreed to terms on a contract with linebacker, Nick Vigil, who is also 27-years-old. He played his first four seasons in Cincinnati before playing last season in Los Angeles (Chargers).

The #Vikings are signing LB Nick Vigil to a one-year deal that includes over $1 million guaranteed, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 16, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan