The Minnesota Vikings may not have signed as many players this offseason compared to 2024 and 2025, but that doesn’t mean the last few months have been boring. In fact, the Vikings’ offseason has been stuffed with surprises.
Here’s a look at those, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most surprising twist).
Vikings’ Wildest Moves Started at QB and GM
5. Jauan Jennings Wanted “WR2 Money” — Signs with Vikings on $8M Base Salary
In May, SI.com‘s Albert Breer wrote, “49ers WR Jauan Jennings is a good example of that, looking for No. 2 receiver money. Chargers G Mekhi Becton might be another one, who simply thought he had more value than the rest of the league did. Browns TE David Njoku is a little older, but I’d say he’s in this group, too.”
WR2 money can mean $25 million. When Breer’s announcement arrived, it felt like there was just no way that Minnesota could get Jennings. Fast-forward a couple of days, and Breer’s reporting was evidently off base just a bit. Jennings’s base salary in Minnesota is $8 million, expandable to $13 million.
And just like that — the Vikings secured their best WR3 on paper since Jake Reed 25 years ago.
4. No Official GM for Free Agency or Draft
Minnesota made a front-office change in late January and arguably had a couple of weeks to fill the vacant general manager role. Instead, they tapped Rob Brzezinski on the shoulder — the “money guy” — took take the job, and he said sure.
Brzezinski, with help from Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores, guided Minnesota through an entire free-agency period and the draft sans an official general manager. The situation was nearly unprecedented in Vikings history except for the “Triangle of Authority” era with Rick Spielman, the Wilfs, and Brad Childress.
3. Cardinals Drop Kyler Murray, and It Was Just Automatic That He’d Signed in MIN
Murray grew up as a Vikings fan. Like a genuine one. He claims to have cried when Minnesota lost the 2009 NFC Championship.
So when the Arizona Cardinals kicked him off their roster, he had plenty of options on the open market. Yet, after a round of Zoom calls, it was just a no-brainer that he would sign with the Vikings. Fans didn’t even have to sweat it. Murray was released, he touched base with a few teams via videoconference, and landed in Minnesota instantly.
At the very start of the offseason, it seemed like Minnesota might have to trade for Murray. Why would the Cardinals get rid of him for nothing? Nope — they cut him, and he seamlessly signed with the Vikings. No suspense, only formality.
2. Vikings Draft DT Caleb Banks — a Man with 2nd-Round Draft Stock and a Bad Foot
The Miami Dolphins and the Vikings are the worst drafting teams over the last few years. Surely, Minnesota would draft a safe prospect in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, correct? Incorrect. The Vikings drafted the monster defensive tackle from Florida, who came with two serious foot injuries in the previous seven months.
The franchise that desperately needed to connect on a draft pick, two, three, or ten, took a risk on a man with 2nd-Round draft stock and back-to-back foot injuries. To be fair, Banks was a 1st-Round talent in January and early February, but he broke his foot at the NFL Combine.
The Vikings did not play it safe; they swung for the fences with Banks. He’s boom or bust.
Zone Coverage‘s Nelson Thielen on Banks last month: “Did it feel crazy on draft night, especially if you were someone who’d presumed Dillon Thieneman as Minnesota’s pick for four months? Absolutely. It felt like a bad value you could’ve gotten later, a massive injury risk, and a strange fit for the Vikings’ defensive needs.”
“But if that’s not the case? If the injury risk is not nearly as severe, and the Vikings clearly define his role in a way that allows him to thrive, we could look back on it with far more fondness in time.”
1. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Fired 3.5 Weeks after the Regular Season
The fact that Adofo-Mensah would lose his job was not surprising: he crafted four mostly bad draft classes and bungled the Sam Darnold situation. This article does not suggest that his termination was unwarranted.
But the time was mind-bogglingly strange.
Minnesota could’ve fired Adofo-Mensah on the Monday after the regular season and conducted a full replacement search alongside other GM-needy teams in mid-January. Rather, the Vikings waited until the end of January, allowing the aforementioned Brzezinski to run the show for four months.
Everything might work out just fine, but the timing of Adofo-Mensah’s firing was truly stunning.
