The Vikings could not afford Dalvin Cook because the league regards running backs as interchangeable and short-term employees. Plus the indefensible salary paid to immobile Kirk Cousins does not help. They have to figure out how to pay Justin Jefferson and Danielle Hunter will be never report at an annual salary 10 million dollars less than he can get at numerous other places. I am not convinced they are committed to winning, just making money.
Minnesota’s strength, historically, has been its preference for problem-solving over posturing. That tradition is being tested now. This is not the moment for reflexive outrage or performative reassurance. It is the moment for clarity.
Minnesota does not need more outrage. It needs clearer accounting. It needs fewer slogans and more follow-through. It needs to revisit old assumptions with open eyes and accept that a reputation earned decades ago does not guarantee results today.
Something significant is being examined, something consequential has gone wrong inside the process, and the people most familiar with that process decided they could not continue as if nothing had changed. In federal law enforcement, that is as close to an alarm bell as it gets.
My first-ever book, Stop Managing Media Decline: How Legacy Media Gave Up Its Communities, is now available for purchase on Amazon. The book – available in paperback or Kindle, is a clear-eyed, deeply reported look at what happens when local journalism fades — and what it takes to build something honest in
