Nolan Teasley is your brand new Minnesota Vikings General Manager. He spent the last 13 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, […]
Nolan Teasley is your brand new Minnesota Vikings General Manager. He spent the last 13 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, beginning as a scouting intern and working his way up to Assistant GM. This is Teasley’s first ever stint as a General Manager, and he now wields more power than he’s ever had before. Mark Wilf has already stated that Nolan Teasley will have the final say on the 53-man roster, something that is effective immediately.
But just how much power is that? Wilf also shared that Teasley would be “leaning” on the input of Rob Brzezinski and Kevin O’Connell before he makes final decisions. Nolan Teasley is likely going to lean on that much more in the beginning before time starts ticking. Outside of that, how much power does Teasley really have? Is he just another figured-head for the organization like they painted Kwesi Adofo-Mensah out to be? What should we expect during the reign of Nolan Teasley?
Nolan Teasley Will Like Have to Grow Into His Power
This is purely speculative, but it seems like any major moves that Nolan Teasley had in mind for this offseason had to be approved by the Wilf Family at first. More specifically, coaching staff changes. This isn’t to say that I thought Teasley would just walk in here and fire Kevin O’Connell. Rather, everyone on the coaching staff is pretty much set for now. It’s hard to imagine Teasley has any major pull with that currently.
That is something that he will likely grow to wield the power of as we get into the season, and especially next offseason. If the Vikings have a disappointing season by their own definition, that is likely where we really see Nolan Teasley lay the hammer down and call the shots. Player personnel changes, staff changes, maybe even a head coaching change. Additionally, he will have final call as to who stays and who goes in the QB room. Maybe that call even applies to this offseason amid the J.J. McCarthy trade rumors.
Moves like a possible Tai Felton release or an Ivan Pace Jr. release can be done by Nolan Teasley, but it’s very likely he would lean on Kevin O’Connell before he makes a final decision on a move like that. However, as Teasley knocks down more and more time in his powerful position and gets more of a hang of how things work around the place, expect that fist to get heavier and heavier.
Nolan Teasley Could Make Shockwaves in Year 1
Nolan Teasley could truly throw the NFL world a curveball this offseason if he is given the green light to trade away QB J.J. McCarthy.
Rumors keep swirling since Tom Pelissero brought up the possibility. Pelissero isn’t just someone that says things for the sake of saying them. If he is bringing it up, there is at least a little bit of smoke in the chimney.
“I don’t know what direction they’re going to go as you get closer to the season, but let’s say Kyler wins the job, which I would lean toward Kyler is the starting quarterback. Do you have J.J. as the backup? Do you potentially look to trade him while there’s still some intrigue within the league? You might be able to get more for him with two years left on his rookie contract than with one year left. Those are all things that I would think you’re going to talk through.”
There’s no reason to immediately believe that the Vikings will trade J.J. McCarthy, but it’s important to remember that Nolan Teasley has no ties to him. You could technically say that about almost every player on the roster, but there’s not many reasons to keep two QBs, outside of injury concerns.
