The Kwesi Quote to Remember as the Vikings Venture into Free Agency
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah knows how to negotiate.
In fact, one could argue that negotiating contracts is one of his best skills as a general manager. Often, the players he signs — Sam Darnold, Josh Metellus, Aaron Jones, Byron Murphy Jr., Andrew Van Ginkel, etc. — outperform their deals. A large part of what makes the GM capable of succeeding in this area of the job is his willingness to stand firm on his convictions.
Kwesi and the FA Negotiations
Last offseason, Adofo-Mensah was talking about negotiating a trade. While doing so, he offered a wonderful tidbit that helps to illuminate his thinking.
The GM spoke about the importance of knowing “walk-away prices.” Put differently, the point in time when things are getting too pricey so it’s best to turn to a different option: “Your leverage in a negotiation is your willingness to do something else. So I gotta say, ‘I will not do this because I would rather do these three other things and make our team better.’ It’s gotta mean something.”
Decode what the former stock trader is saying.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is someone who loves having options. In fact, the word comes up pretty commonly when listening to him speak. There are times when Minnesota is ultra-committed to finding a solution — see: Jefferson, Justin — but even then Adofo-Mensah is willing to grind it out.
Consider, as another example, the situation unfolding at corner. If a game took place tonight, the Vikings would be in dire straits at the position. Adofo-Mensah doesn’t seem to have much panic, though. Instead, there’s enough poise as a negotiator to continue grinding things out.
Byron Murphy Jr. stands out as a particularly important internal free agent, but the sides haven’t been able to arrive at a new deal (at least not yet). The idea that emanates from the willingness to allow things to get to the 11th hour is that Adofo-Mensah operates with calm at the negotiation table. Unlike with Jefferson, it’s possible that Murphy plays elsewhere.
Few, if any, would argue that the GM is perfect at his job. Truth be told, he wouldn’t claim to be perfect. The most glaring example of his mistakes rests in the 2022 draft class, a group that has far underperformed expectations. Even worse, the 2023 draft crew is just average and questions remain about the 2024 cluster of young players.
However, Adofo-Mensah did magnificently last offseason when it came to navigating free agency. Guys like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, Sam Darnold, and Aaron Jones proved to be vital.
Keep in mind that the GM brought these players in for sensible deals across the board. Not a single one of those guys were signed to deals that look bad in hindsight. All were either signed to a fair-value deal or outperformed the value of their deal.
Oh, and he had the boldness to say goodbye to long-time players like Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter, decisions that now look a lot better (though, in fairness, Hunter is still a stud).
Sitting on roughly $60 million in open room, Adofo-Mensah will again have the ability to sign a lot of free agent talent. Know that he has a strong track record in this area and a strong understanding of how to navigate negotiations.
The craziness gets going in less than an hour.
Editor’s Note: Information from 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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.