Souhan: Subtle moves by Wild, Lynx and Vikings made all the difference

Before looking at the underrated acquisitions that have made the Wild, Lynx and Vikings stunning successes this year, let’s make an example of Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.

One of the most important and most easily forgotten truisms of big-league sports is that winning the offseason rarely leads to winning a championship, especially in sports other than baseball, the embarrassingly structured sport in which rich teams can simply outbid their competition.

Take the New York Jets for example.

How many hundreds of hours did ESPN spend on this “great” story: Aaron Rodgers trying to lead the Jets to a Super Bowl title.

This story had everything a national media outlet could want. New York. A Hall of Fame quarterback trying to save a horrid franchise. A roster loaded with talent that seemed to need only the right leader. A New York-area dateline.

What could go wrong?

Nothing. There was never any risk in placing a malignant narcissist in the midst of a dysfunctional organization owned by Woody Johnson, whose record as Jets owner is 171-228 and whose team hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 2015.

Rodgers and the Jets unwittingly signed a mutual-implosion pact. But at least they got a lot of air time this summer.

The Wild, Lynx and Vikings chose different paths, excelling because of shrewd moves that looked relatively unimpressive at the time.

Kirill Kaprizov is the Wild’s best player, and has been for years. He’s playing at a career peak right now. But he’s not the biggest variable for a team vying for the best record in the NHL.

Consider these two under-the-radar moves that have led to this season’s success:

The Wild have no right to be this good. They are, because of players like Middleton and Gustavsson.

Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Lynx posted a combined record of 33-43, giving them their first consecutive losing seasons since 2009 and 2010, which led to the selection of Maya Moore with the first pick in the 2011 draft.

The Lynx were lousy and seemingly going nowhere when they passed on the best player available to them in the 2024 draft, Angel Reese. They wound up getting almost nothing out of their two latest first-round picks, Diamond Miller and Alissa Pilli, and their most prominent free-agent signings were, at the time, underwhelming.

Courtney Williams was a veteran shooting guard who would be asked to play “lead guard” in Cheryl Reeve’s offense. Alanna Smith was a late-blooming post. Williams and Smith played in 2023 for Chicago, which finished 18-22.

In Minnesota, Williams became the point guard Reeve had been missing for years, and Smith became an exceptional defender and valuable offensive player as the Lynx came within one shot (or missed call) of winning a WNBA title.

The Vikings are 10-2 because of a stunning array of veteran acquisitions, none of which attracted a thousandth of the attention that Rodgers received this summer.

Jonathan Greenard. Andrew Van Ginkel. Aaron Jones. Stephon Gilmore. Shaq Griffin.

To honor Rodgers, let’s focus on two former Jets.

Sam Darnold played his way out of New York and Carolina before spending a year as a backup in San Francisco. His résumé hinted that he might play well for a month but no longer.

Now he might be the most pleasantly surprising player in the NFL.

Linebacker Blake Cashman was thought to be a quality player. He has surpassed all reasonable expectations. This season the Vikings are 9-0 when he is healthy and 1-2 when he is out of the lineup.

Darnold signed a one-year deal for $10 million. Cashman signed a three-year deal worth $22.5 million. Together they are making about $18 million this season.

Or less than half of Rodgers’ salary.