Vikings re-signing of Aaron Jones sends firm message about who Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is as a general manager
The Minnesota Vikings have made their second big move of the offseason. Just days after they extended safety Theo Jackson, the Vikings have done the same with Aaron Jones on a two-year, $20 million contract with $13 million guaranteed. It's a sizeable contract for Jones, who was set to hit free agency on Monday. The […]
The Minnesota Vikings have made their second big move of the offseason. Just days after they extended safety Theo Jackson, the Vikings have done the same with Aaron Jones on a two-year, $20 million contract with $13 million guaranteed.
It's a sizeable contract for Jones, who was set to hit free agency on Monday. The Vikings and Jones had initially agreed to move the void date back on his contract from February 17th to Monday, March 10th. It allowed the Vikings to get an extension done with Jones while also sending a major signal to the rest of the league.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is more than an analytics general manager
Bringing back Jones is huge for the Vikings. Finding a way to bolster the running game for the Vikings is going to be huge with J.J. McCarthy likely taking over as the starting quarterback. Supporting him will continue to be a priority as the Vikings grow with McCarthy under center.
What is really interesting about the contract is that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the "analytics" general manager, paid big money for a running back. He was asked about the running back market at the combine and had an interesting comment about it.
"I think it’s probably accurate to say that (talking about how Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley potentially caused an uptick in the running back market), but you also named two unbelievable names that might be getting gold jackets one day when their careers are over. So, I think it’s about the person that is up in the discussion, but that was probably a position that maybe did get to a place where – you know markets aren’t perfectly efficient in a short period of time. I think long-term they typically get to their right water, but that’s a position that, obviously, if you have the front to be able to block for them they can change games and they can really impact not just your offense but your defense, control the clock and different things like that."
The line from Adofo-Mensah about it being about the player rings true here. Barkley getting a contract for over $20 million/year makes sense since he is at the top of the market. It also set the market for a player like Jones, who signed for about half of what Barkley did.
Adofo-Mensah has shown a willingness to adapt his way of thinking from the traditional analytics thought process that we normally see with Pro Football Focus. Jones will be a great stabilizing force for the Vikings as they bring in multiple other players at the position to fortify it long-term.
We've seen Adofo-Mensah take interesting approaches to free agency with how he attacks free agency and, luckily for the Vikings, they have worked out well.
Minnesota Vikings are set to gain huge benefit thanks to Ronnie Stanley’s new contract and could make one trade free
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s trade strategy could pay huge dividends
