It’s been a couple of months since head coach Kevin O’Connell agreed to a contract extension to stay in Minnesota for the foreseeable future. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, meanwhile, is patiently waiting for the Vikings to come to the table.
That made for some awkward moments on Wednesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center as Adofo-Mensah spoke to reporters without currently having any sort of long term job security. Instead of getting to do a victory lap after adding so much talent to the roster over the past few weeks, he had to answer a series of questions about the potential of being a lame duck.
How is he handling the unknown?
“I don’t think about that very much,” Adofo-Mensah said. “This is probably the busiest time of the year for myself and my staff.”
Indeed. Not many teams in the NFL have been busier than the Vikings over the past few weeks as they have retained the likes of running back Aaron Jones and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. while adding a number of key players on both sides of the ball.
Though he hasn’t been rewarded for his efforts, Adofo-Mensah downplayed the lack of contract extension, using a phrase he has used multiple times throughout his tenure, including when the Vikings were negotiating with superstar receiver Justin Jefferson before he agreed to his contract extension.
“It’s a process,” he said. “These things take time.”
It’s still unclear if a deal is close to being done and Adofo-Mensah appears to be content letting his agent to most of the talking for the time being.
“I know that there’s positive dialogue happening,” the GM said. “It’s probably on me that it’s not going quicker because I wake up every morning focused on the things that I need to focus on to get this team where we want to go.”
Looking at the big picture, there have been some ups and downs for Adofo-Mensah since he took over.
The 2022 draft class is by far his biggest failure. None of those players have made a major impact so far, and safety Lewis Cine (first round) and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. (second round) are no longer on the team.
The 2024 free agent class is by far his biggest success. He hit a home run with nearly every signing, getting incredible production from Jones, quarterback Sam Darnold, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, and linebacker Blake Cashman, among a handful of others.
All of it has been a part of a competitive rebuild that Adofo-Mensah has skillfully navigated.
Will he be around to see his vision come to fruition?
“I plan to be the person that’s here when we’ve ultimately accomplished our goals,” Adofo-Mensah said. “That’s what I’m working towards.”
Originally Published: March 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM CDT