Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Ready to Swing for the Fences
If he wants to, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can swing for the fences.
The GM has established certain buzzwords since taking over as Minnesota’s leading executive. Yes, there are some that may inspire a bit of eye-rolling — the importance of collaboration and communication, things that do matter — but there’s another term that shouldn’t be overlooked: options.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah & A Home-Run Swing
Expectations are high in the Twin Cities.
More specifically, the leadership group in Eagan is looking for the Vikings to run roughshod on the NFL. Fans, writers, and analysts around the league may be sleeping on the team a bit, but that’s not how the Vikings are proceeding. Folks, a rebuilding team isn’t signing veterans like Aaron Jones, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Ryan Kelly to beefy deals unless the plan is to win now.
Of course, no one can predict the future, a truth that applies as much to myself as it does to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Without question, the GM knows far, far more about football and the Vikings than the overwhelming majority of people — myself included — so his opinion carries weight. Even still, he would acknowledge that the future has uncertainties baked into it.
Adofo-Mensah, however, is planning on winning. Seeing the team get to 10-7, 11-6, or 12-5 won’t be too surprising. The schedule is tough and so, too, is the NFC North. Just how high can the Viking soar from within that context? More specifically, how high can this team go with an unproven sophomore quarterback?
If, in the end, the answer is very high, then Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can go bold. He can step into the batter’s box with the intention of swinging for the fences.
Just go back in time to the 2022 season. Kevin O’Connell was getting tremendous football out of Kirk Cousins, a much-criticized QB who had suddenly become elite in critical moments. The issue was that options beyond Justin Jefferson weren’t the most inspiring, so the approach was to pickup tight end T.J. Hockenson in a bold trade with the Lions. The risky and frisky trade turned out to be a nice bit of business from the first-time GM.
Consider, as well, what took place before the trade deadline in 2024. Starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw went down to a torn ACL, so Adofo-Mensah orchestrated a trade for Cam Robinson. Doing so beefed up the LT1 spot for the remainder of the season (even if things did fizzle out in the playoffs).
Add up the two examples and there’s a small trend: success prompts Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to be more bold on the trade market. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
One wonders if the GM is having a bit of a conversation with his team. If they tell him that 2025 isn’t going to be the season by losing consistently, then the decision will be to either sell off players or to stand pat. Conversely, the team could tell Adofo-Mensah that 2025 could be the season. If so, then maybe the front office feels a bit more amenable to shipping out a pick (or two) for someone who can help in the present moment.
Unlike last year, the Vikings are sitting on a pile of draft picks in the upcoming draft, especially due to the comp picks. Partnering the picks with an ample amount of cap space for the 2025 season — currently sitting at around $23.5 million — makes a trade very possible.
The NFL’s trade deadline is going to arrive on November 4th. Minnesota’s record leading up to that deadline seems likely to factor into whether Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decides to swing for the fences.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
