An era is over in Minnesota. At the start of last season I began to see the writing on the wall. The thing is, it never really hit me until this past week. With Eric Kendricks and Adam Thielen carrying large contracts, I knew two of my childhood favorites would no longer be suiting up in purple. On Monday, the Vikings released Eric Kendricks after eight seasons, 117 games, and 919 tackles. Today, another Viking legend hit the market. Following nine seasons, 135 games, 534 catches, and 56 touchdowns, Adam Thielen was released. It’s a difficult pill to swallow as a fan, but at the end of the day, the NFL is a business. With that being said, it doesn’t make this any easier.
This offseason feels like the turning of a new page in franchise history. Rumors are still swirling around Dalvin Cook and Harrison Smith. They may not be in Minneapolis come training camp and that hurts even more. Cook is garnering trade interest around the league and at 34 with a cap hit of 19.1 million, Smith is a candidate to be cut. I’ve been privileged as a fan to experience a tight-knit core of players growing up and I knew this day would come.
I’m excited for what the future holds in Minnesota, but it’ll definitely be strange next season. It won’t feel right seeing Thielen catch zig routes from another quarterback. It’ll feel surreal watching Eric Kendricks breakup passes in a different uniform. I guess there’s one thing to say: in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah we trust. SKOL.