Vikings GM after 1-5 start, Ngakoue trade: 'No one thinks the season's over'

The Minnesota Vikings are off to a 1-5 start this season, and after trading away defensive end Yannick Ngakoue on Thursday, it was believed the team could've started to rebuild.

According to general manager Rick Spielman, though, the Vikings remain focused on winning.

"When you have probably one of the top running backs in the league, I don't know if you'd call that a rebuild or not," Spielman said Thursday, referring to Pro Bowl runner Dalvin Cook, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune.

"You want to win as many games as we can, and that's going to be our objective for the year. But also, when you have an opportunity to continue to add, with the 15 draft picks, you're seeing most of them having to play right now," he added.

After acquiring Ngakoue in a trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars during the offseason, Minnesota moved the former Pro Bowler to the Baltimore Ravens reportedly in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round selection.

Spielman added that the way the season played out for Minnesota forced him to make moves after six weeks.

"To lose three linebackers, two of them before the season even starts, that's kind of hard to predict," he said. "(Ben) Gedeon and Cam Smith with the heart surgery, so you're scrambling a little bit, trying to fill voids."

The Vikings also lost linebacker Anthony Barr for the year due to a torn pectoral muscle suffered in Week 2.

Additionally, two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter reportedly will remain sidelined this season as he'll undergo surgery to clean up a herniated disc.

This is the first time since 2013 the Vikings started the season 1-5.