Cousins negotiation 'probably' goes to deadline; Vikings GM rips 'untrue' narrative
One day after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah chastised what he called "completely false" reports that Justin Jefferson could be traded, the Minnesota Vikings general manager hopped on a radio show in Indianapolis – the site of the NFL Combine – and reiterated his disdain for untrue narratives.
"We're trying to lock down a blue player, a blue person in our organization. I don't think you're supposed to think about anything else. I think that's unwise. It has not crossed our mind," Adofo-Mensah reiterated to KFXN-FM 100.3's Paul Allen.
"Just because I don't stay in the here and now with everything that gets said, doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Narratives do matter. I'm starting to realize that and at times you wish you could confront some of these things in a real-time basis but I've chosen to not do the job that way," he continued. "I want to do it with integrity. I want to do it with the respect I have for journalists. I grew up with a great appreciation for journalists. You're talking about somebody who reads Sports Illustrated cover-to-cover from when he was a kid, still to this day when I get time it's probably my favorite thing to do. So I have a ton of respect for sports journalists, and I wish that the standard that you guys all uphold would be upheld by everybody but it isn't always the case and that's unfair that these narratives run without steam."
Steam was the key word used by Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press in his most recent column, as he wrote: "Meanwhile, steam continues that the Vikings could make Justin Jefferson available for trade."
"I will stand up for the Minnesota Vikings when untrue things are being floated," Adofo-Mensah said.
Cousins negotiation 'probably' goes to the wire
Asked when he believes he'll have an answer, one way or another, about quarterback Kirk Cousins, Adofo-Mensah said he thinks negotiations will go down to the wire.
"I think it probably will go right down to the deadline. I hope it doesn't. I don't like hoping but as I've learned in this league deadlines do just kind of get people to, you know, tighten up, I guess, and come to that final agreement," he explained.
"I would expect it maybe to, but again, we've had conversations with his representation. Great relationship with Mike (McCartney) and Kirk obviously knows how we feel about him, he knows how he feels about Minnesota. I hoping that it won't be that but for me to predict would be unwise."
The deadline seems to be March 11, when Cousins' and his agent can start negotiating with teams ahead of the official free agency opening on March 13.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport believes Cousins will be gone if he gets to free agency.
"For me, it feels like they will have to do a deal with Cousins before free agency," Rapoport said Tuesday. "Once he gets to free agency, hard to imagine he comes back."
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