Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Awkward Glass of Champagne with J.J. McCarthy
A while back, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked about needing to work through a specific “champagne problem.”
The quip was in relation to extending Justin Jefferson, the all-world player who is being tamed by a quarterback who can’t complete his passes. Even the world’s most gifted receiver — Jefferson has a very persuasive claim on having that crown — can’t catch a ball that’s sent into orbit rather than within the vicinity of a player’s hands.
More recently, J.J. McCarthy stepped in front of the Minnesota media, describing his struggles last week as being akin to popping the cork off a bottle. The phrasing makes one think of champagne yet again.
The image, even for those of us who don’t drink the bubbly stuff, is effective. The great majority (all?) can picture a cork flying off the bottle. After sufficient pressure, the cork soars through the air as bubbles soon spill over. McCarthy may someday become the equivalent at quarterback — exploding for great production — but that’s not looking likely for 2025 (especially with his injury).
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, J.J. McCarthy, & The Champagne (Problem)
In a lot of ways, Adofo-Mensah and McCarthy see their job security tied together.
Lasting in the NFL is a difficult task. That fleeting ambition — remaining hired in a workplace that’s designed to fire almost everyone — becomes close to impossible with terrible quarterback play. Seeing McCarthy continue his downward spiral means possessing ample reason to fire Adofo-Mensah; bringing in a new general manager makes the idea of firing McCarthy far more plausible.
The pair need each other to succeed.
In fact, so much of what Adofo-Mensah tried to do during the offseason was predicated on allowing McCarthy to shine early in his career. The trenches got ample reinforcements. Most obvious were the meaty-money deals that got sent out in free agency. Remember, too, that the 1st-Round selection got sunk into LG1 Donovan Jackson (and the 5th-Round selection got sunk into DT5 Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, for whatever that’s worth).
The great issue is that a lot of players haven’t lived up to their contracts.
The sophomore has struggled so much at quarterback that a lot of players are getting a free pass. Indeed, there’s no small irony within the reality that the roster got loaded with talent to take the heat off of McCarthy. But then McCarthy has played so poorly that he’s taking heat off the roster that’s supposed to be propping him up.
At 4-7 and with the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, the Vikings don’t have much reason to pull out the champagne. If Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and J.J. McCarthy did pour a glass to have a drink together, the conversation could be a bit awkward for two key leaders who are facing pressure aplenty. For better or worse, these two are tied together; neither has had promising results in 2025.
Next up for Minnesota is a Seattle game on Sunday, November 30th.
