The Green Bay Packers have had an interesting offseason, but it has paled in comparison to what’s going on across the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Vikings have had an active offseason of their own, spending big in free agency and even having a flirtation with former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but it feels like they may not be done.
With OTAs commencing, the Vikings are doing everything they can to remain at the top of the NFC North. But they may have gone too far, as they gave a failed general manager a surprise promotion on Friday morning.
Vikings Promote Former Colts Executive Ryan Grigson to Assistant GM
The Vikings announced that they have extended general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and made a pair of moves to restructure their front office. While Adofo-Mensah will remain in his current position, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports the Vikings will also promote Demitrius Washington and Ryan Grigson to assistant general managers.
Adofo-Mensah deserves his extension as he’s led Minnesota to a 34-17 record since taking over in 2022. But the real kicker is the promotion of Grigson, who is most known for his disastrous tenure with the Indianapolis Colts.
Grigson arrived just as the Colts selected Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Tasked with building around a generational talent, Grigson failed miserably and couldn’t build a competent offensive line to protect Luck. Grigson was fired after the 2016 season, and Luck missed the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury before retiring at age 29.
While Grigson has served as an advisor to Adofo-Mensah since his arrival in Minnesota and isn’t completely in charge of the roster, there are some interesting parallels.
The Vikings are entering J.J. McCarthy’s first season as a starter and have worked to build a solid infrastructure around him. While having Justin Jefferson helps, the Vikings also brought in a pair of Colts imports in Ryan Kelly (Grigson’s final first-round pick in 2016) and Will Fries to fix the offensive line. Minnesota has also whiffed on several draft classes since Grigson arrived, including taking Lewis Cine in the first round in 2022 and potentially overpaying for Dallas Turner in the 2024 draft.
If Grigson has more of a voice behind the scenes with this move, it could bleed onto the field. That could make McCarthy the next version of Teddy Bridgewater or Christian Ponder and give the Packers an advantage for years to come.