Tyler Forness discusses how Minnesota Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a game plan he believes can executed far better than any other NFL team by leveraging his top-notch medical team to keep the players healthy and on the field with the aim of a deep playoff run
00:00We're all going to be paying attention to J.J. McCarthy.
00:03But the biggest question surrounding the Minnesota Vikings setting into 2025 has very little to do with him.
00:12Minnesota Vikings are a really intriguing team heading into the 2025 season.
00:16They have spent basically four off-seasons making this roster quarterback-proof for whoever was going to take over for Kirk Cousins.
00:24And they've done just that.
00:26J.J. McCarthy is set to step in, and all eyes are going to be on him because he's inheriting a 14-win team.
00:32Yes, a rebuilding team won 14 games.
00:36That's where the competitive rebuild comes in.
00:38The Vikings were not willing to sacrifice winning football games just because they knew they had to retool their roster.
00:44So with all eyes on J.J. McCarthy, you'd think he's going to be the biggest question mark.
00:49Sure, he is one.
00:50But the biggest question mark is something a little bit deeper, a little bit bigger than him.
00:53And it has to do with general manager Kwasio Fomenza's strategy.
00:57That strategy, his medical team can do better than everybody else and maximize the health of his roster.
01:04And last year, he hit huge.
01:07Four players have been often injured throughout their careers.
01:10Jonathan Gennard, Andrew Van Ginkle, Blake Cashman, Aaron Jones.
01:14Kwasio Fomenza placed the bet that they could make those guys healthy throughout the entirety of the season better than anybody else in the national football league.
01:23Well, Gennard, Van Ginkle, and Jones all played in 17 games.
01:27Blake Cashman missed three.
01:29Three missed games from four guys who had been consistently injured.
01:33That's a pretty impressive feat.
01:34Is it repeatable?
01:35There's so many variables to be able to answer that question.
01:38But the Vikings do believe that it is their one area where they can have a serious advantage over the rest of the national football league.
01:46Their training staff.
01:47This organization continues to get A's and A-pluses across the board when it comes to the NFL PA player survey.
01:54But what if it doesn't happen?
01:56What if Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Will Fries, and Ryan Kelly all deal with a lot of injuries over the course of the next six months?
02:03What happens then?
02:04What happens if that strategy is not duplicatable?
02:07What happens if the Vikings just can't make it happen?
02:10Does this take away Quasi Dolfamensa's strategic advantage over the rest of the NFL?
02:14That his star group, the medical team, can't elevate the way that he expected them to?
02:22This is how he's getting an edge in the market.
02:24The Vikings believe that their medical team can keep guys healthier so well that they can take risks like both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.
02:33Both of whom had devastating upper body injuries last year.
02:37Golly, cool fries, who still hasn't been fully cleared from a broken leg, suffered in week five.
02:42And Ryan Kelly, who continues to get hurt year after year after year.
02:46So much so there's talk of him retire.
02:49If they can keep those guys healthy, this can be a real Super Bowl winner.
02:53But if they can't, it could be devastating for the 2025 seasons and their Super Bowl prospect.
02:58And that is why it's the biggest question surrounding this team.
