With the Minnesota Vikings turning the calendar to the summer, the offseason is basically over, and the last four months have featured no shortage of shocking moments. It’s the nature of the beast in the NFL; the Vikings just had more than most people expected.
Minnesota’s quiet calendar still produced a handful of strange developments worth revisiting.
So … what were they? Let’s rank them (No. 1 = top curveball).
Five Moves Changed the Constitution of Minnesota’s Spring
All the shockers from January through May.
5. Conducting Free Agency and Draft with No GM
When you get to No. 1 on the list, you’ll find the almighty curveball. In the meantime, Minnesota has conducted a full offseason, including free agency, the draft, and a seismic trade, without an official general manager. It’s interim boss Rob Brzezinski, working with head coach Kevin O’Connell, to steer the ship.
Most NFL teams fire their general managers around January 10th and have a replacement within two or three weeks. The Vikings said, “Nope, we don’t have time to do that” — even though they had time to do that.
Why Minnesota didn’t fire up a general manager search between January 31st and February 13th remains unclear. It could’ve had a new boss in the big chair four weeks before free agency.
4. Jauan Jennings Enters the Chat
On April 28th, just a few days after the draft, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “49ers free-agent wide receiver Jauan Jennings is visiting tonight and Wednesday with the Minnesota Vikings, per source.”
The news caught fans off guard — in a good way — because purple faithful are not accustomed to the Vikings pursuing big-name WR3s. They’re usually content with Bisi Johnsons, Chad Beebes, K.J. Osborns, Brandon Powells, and Jalen Nailors.
Soon after, the Vikings signed Jennings, and now, on paper, Minnesota has its best WR1-WR-2-WR3 trio since Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed. It’s Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings in 2026.
3. Jonathan Greenard Traded
The Greenard trade rumor kicked up dust in early March, as the Vikings were evidently ready to rip off the Band-Aid and let Dallas Turner start in 2026. Then, nothing happened on the Greenard front until late April.
Minnesota traded Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles, along with a 7th-Round pick, for two 3rd-Round picks. One’s name is Jakobe Thomas, a safety from Miami. The next selection will be made in 2027.
The Vikings lost their best defensive player, who signed a $100 millioon contract over the next four years in Philadelphia. When a team offloads its best defensive players, that’s a big deal. It happened in Minnesota.
2. Vikings Draft Caleb Banks in Round 1
Virtually every March mock draft predicted the Vikings would draft Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, who seemed like a direct replacement for Harrison Smith. In April, the field opened just a bit among the mock draft crowd, but Thieneman remained the heavy frontrunner for Minnesota’s Round 1 liking.
So, the draft arrived, and indeed, Thieneman was there for the taking at pick No. 18. Instead, Minnesota selected Banks, a DT from Florida. The pick shocked everyone because Banks was supposed to be a 2nd-Rounder. He suffered two foot injuries in five months.
Minnesota is banking on Banks’s upside, which can be All-Pro caliber if his foot fully heals.
Our Steve Hoikkala on Banks: “When healthy, Banks looks like he has incredible NFL potential. He can move with the explosiveness of a much smaller lineman while carrying the size to wreak havoc. Before the injury-plagued 2025 season, Banks flashed dominant ability at the University of Florida in 2024, recording 4.5 sacks and consistently disrupting opposing backfields with his first-step quickness and length.”
“It may not be eye-popping stats, but it is what is on film that catches the eyes of scouts, and that is why he was mocked as a top-20 pick prior to the combine foot injury.”
Our Josh Frey was the only person in the entire Vikings media community to predict Banks as Minnesota’s Round 1 pick. Here’s the evidence.
1. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Fired 3.5 Weeks “Late”
Fans began to recognize in 2023 and 2024 that Adofo-Mensah’s drafting patterns and habits felt problematic. In fact, when Minnesota’s season hit a low point in 2025 at a 4-8 record, some wondered if he would be fired.
Then, Black Monday rolled around, and the Vikings’ brass fired nobody. O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah kept their jobs, evidently safe to see the mission through.
Until a team led by Sam Darnold won the NFC Championship.
The Vikings’ owners fired Adofo-Mensah five days later, kept O’Connell, and established a clean slate in the front office. The move was stunning because of the timing. Firing Adofo-Mensah on Black Monday would’ve made sense, enabling the Vikings to start fresh and hire a new general manager. Instead, they waited, making the termination feel like a bombshell.
Four months later, Minnesota is still searching for Adofo-Mensah’s replacement. NFL teams almost never wait weeks into the offseason to pull the plug on a general manager.
