If you will permit a cultural reference to a song that is now more than a half-century old, the initial moves made by Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah reminded me of a song lyric by The Who.
In Za'Darius Smith signing, Vikings make first departure from old regime
The first week of free agency had a real "same as it ever was" feel for the Vikings until Tuesday.
March 23, 2022 at 9:31PM
"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."
The biggest early moves had been a maintenance of the status quo — shocking when considering how mediocre the Vikings have been in the last four seasons, but perhaps less so when considering the Wilf family is intent on competing in 2022 even with Aaron Rodgers set to rule the NFC North again.
Adofo-Mensah, in concert with new head coach Kevin O'Connell and salary cap wizard Rob Brzezinski, extended Kirk Cousins' contract, retained Danielle Hunter and reworked the contracts of Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen. All of those veterans have been productive when healthy.
But they also contributed to that aforementioned mediocrity since the start of the 2018 season, a stretch during which the Vikings made the playoffs just once and which ultimately cost GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer their jobs.
Tuesday's signing of Za'Darius Smith, then, was at least the first signature departure from the old regime — something I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
While the three-year deal for Smith — who will turn 30 around the start of the 2022 season — falls in line with the "win now" moves we have already seen, it does at least address the Vikings' neglected pass rush.
Spielman hadn't drafted a defensive lineman in the first or second round since Sharrif Floyd in 2013, and something needed to be done. In tandem with more modest deals for Jordan Hicks and Harrison Phillips, you can envision a much-needed remaking of the Vikings' front seven as they transition to a 3-4 scheme.
(The back four, um, still need a lot of work).
Alas, the news was also paired with a lower-level transaction Tuesday that served as a reminder that the status quo is still not buried: Sean Mannion is back for another year as the backup quarterback. Maybe that shouldn't matter given Cousins' durability, but running it back both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the QB depth chart is disappointing to me.
Perhaps I can give the new guys the benefit of the doubt until we see the effects of new eyes, schemes and culture on the overall product.
When holding out hope for wholesale changes, though, one thing is certain:
We won't get fooled again.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
