Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will 'say less' after making waves with recent comments
Welcome to the NFL, Kwesi.
On the day before the Minnesota Vikings’ general manager gave his opening training camp remarks, USA Today published a profile on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that included some seemingly read-between-the-lines comments about quarterback Kirk Cousins and his roster-building philosophies.
“I’ll be frank,” Adofo-Mensah told Jori Epstein of USA Today. “The one asset where you get nervous about not burning it down is quarterback.”
He labeled Cousins as a “good quarterback” but went on to say that he wasn’t Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes and that teams are more likely to win the Super Bowl if they have QBs of that caliber.
Nothing here is groundbreaking. The Vikings’ approach with Cousins did not indicate that Adofo-Mensah believes his quarterback is elite. They signed Cousins to a short-term extension and reportedly pursued trade options and looked into the possibility of acquiring DeShaun Watson. It also isn’t breaking news that Brady and Mahomes are the guys who reach the Super Bowl more often.
However, the comments don’t exactly jive with the general we-support-you vibe the Vikings are going for with Cousins this year. Cousins already acknowledged the lack of total buy in from the organization during his spring press conference, saying that he “has to earn the right” to be a Viking for life.
Still, it was enough to draw attention to the Vikings' QB situation.
During his press conference on Tuesday, Adofo-Mensah said that he wasn’t being specific about Cousins when he spoke for the USA Today article and explained that he was referring to a comparison with NBA team building and how NFL franchises are nervous about quarterback situations in general.
“I'm kinda new to the media thing,” the Vikings’ GM said. “I think, at times, I'm a very passionate person. I love talking about this stuff: team-building, decision-making, and I think in those moments, I can get theoretical and high-level.”
It wasn’t the only comment that raised some eyebrows. He also talked in the USA Today piece about the idea of going “full Rams.” Earlier this offseason Adofo-Mensah called the Vikings’ situation a “competitive rebuild” and later said that he didn’t feel they were in a position to trade away picks like the Los Angeles Rams to go all in toward one shot at winning the Super Bowl.
Again, he clarified on Tuesday.
“What I was trying to say… in football a lot of times we tell ourselves that we’re there, that this is the year,” Adofo-Mensah said. “There’s an oblong ball. There’s variance in the sport. There’s variance with injuries. To be able to put all of your chips in at the poker table is, a lot of times, not wise. You want to be able to do it two, three, four times so you can win one or two. That’s just kind of how the odds work.”
Adofo-Mensah noted that his wife has suggested saying less.
Related: Vikings announcer says Zimmer 'snapped' when Cousins shoved him
The faux pas is a sign of the times. In the NFL, everything that’s said is a headline. Last week when former linebacker Ben Leber said he “wasn’t exactly breaking news” that former head coach Mike Zimmer wasn’t fond of Cousins, the football world treated it like breaking news and every major outlet turned his comments into a story. Whether Adofo-Mensah says less or more, anything regarding the quarterback is going to be treated as a signal about the Vikings’ future, especially considering the recent past and his current contract, which only runs through 2023.
Adofo-Mensah’s predecessor Rick Spielman spent many years as a general manager and avoided comments that would ruffle feathers. That’s something that comes with experience. While Adofo-Mensah speaks often about his philosophies and theories about football, he will need to consider that there are hundreds of people within the team who will be interpreting every word, not just fans and media on the outside.
"As the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings, everybody's gonna fill in the gaps of what I'm saying relating to the team,” Adofo-Mensah added. “And that's unfair for me to maybe put that on the organization, and I never want to do that.”
“Kirk knows how I feel about him,” Adofo-Mensah added.
When it comes to the NFL, words matter. In an age where everybody reads everything, the dance of informing the public while being considerate to the people within the organization is delicate. Nobody can prepare a new general manager for the potential domino effect of a verbal misstep.
“I have to get better at understanding how that mindflow can imply things, and obviously I want to be great for this organization, and I'll keep getting better,” Adofo-Mensah said.
