Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is Looking Pretty Smart on this Monday Morning
One QB is working on a deal that’s sitting at four years and $180 million in total money. The other is working on a one-year deal that’s commanding just $10 million total. Which one is playing better?
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made the controversial decision not to meet Cousins’ price in the offseason. Doing so moved the Vikings into an uncertain future as they moved ahead with Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy. Some, including yours truly, were genuinely skeptical about Darnold’s ability to thrive. The cheaper passer, though, has been doing precisely that: thriving.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Deserves Praise
Back in March, I wrote a piece arguing that the GM wouldn’t budge from his price in the Cousins negotiations. At a certain point, Cousins would become too expensive and Adofo-Mensah wouldn’t back down from his convictions. The opinion ended up being prescient.
“Almost always, the head coach and general manager are sincere,” I wrote. “Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have publicly said they want Kirk Cousins to come back. We should believe them. What’s notable, though, is that each one is comfortable with losing the QB if the situation reaches a crisis point.”
One more thought from the piece: “Genuinely, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wants Kirk Cousins to keep being Minnesota’s QB. The GM won’t back down from his convictions, though. He has certain numbers in mind when it comes to dollars, years, and guarantees.”
The Falcons, quite evidently, pushed things to a point where Adofo-Mensah wouldn’t go. Atlanta’s QB1 is now leading a team that’s on a four-game losing streak. Even worse, that same player hasn’t thrown a touchdown since November 3rd.
He has, however, been throwing interceptions in that time. Cousins tossed a pair of picks in his return to U.S. Bank Stadium, both of them throws he would like to have back. Were it not for a somewhat controversial decision from the refs — the Drake London/Shaq Griffin battle for the ball — the interception total could have hit three.
Since November 3rd, Kirk Cousins has thrown 8 interceptions. His season totals are now sitting at 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The near one-for-one ratio is unheard of for Cousins since he became a regular starter. Already, the 15 interceptions are a career-worst number.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold is making people look pretty smart. Kevin O’Connell, of course, deserves a ton of praise. But then there’s the GM: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Bold move to transition from Cousins to Darnold. Hindsight tells us that it was wise, but March didn’t offer that clarity. Adofo-Mensah proceeded anyhow.
By the time the final whistle sounded in the Week 14 game, Darnold was sitting on 22/28 passing for 347 yards, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a passer rating sitting at 157.9.
For the season, Darnold — the proud owner of an 11-2 record — has completed 68.4% of his passes for 3,299 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. His passer rating for the season stands at 108.1. There’s basically no debate about which quarterback is playing better football.
The roster’s architect — Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — deserves a ton of credit for giving Darnold a second chance. Lots of people prophesied about a bounce back season, but few could have predicted such excellence from Minnesota.
The GM has made some bad decisions in his time leading the Vikings, but the decision to say no to Cousins while saying yes to Darnold wasn’t one of them.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.