Vikings finally plan pressers with new players; GM not yet scheduled

Six prominent new Vikings will speak to the media in a virtual setting this week, but it's not yet clear when GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be made available.

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of a Minnesota Vikings helmet during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After a bit of a delay, the Vikings have finally announced that press conferences for their prominent new players will be held virtually this week. There's still no word on when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be made available to speak to the media.

Defensive players Javon Hargrave, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jonathan Allen will be individually introduced as Vikings via Zoom calls with reporters on Wednesday afternoon. Offensive additions Ryan Kelly, Jordan Mason, and Will Fries will follow on Thursday afternoon.

That's notable largely because it's happening later than in previous years. Last year, the Vikings' major early additions — Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, and Andrew Van Ginkel — were introduced alongside Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell at TCO Performance Center on the Thursday of the first week of free agency.

This year, an in-person presser was initially scheduled with Allen for last Tuesday after he signed, but that was postponed. The other major free agents arrived in the Twin Cities last Thursday, but the Vikings put press conferences on hold "due to their varying arrival times and the fluidity of each itinerary."

Although there was certainly nothing out of the ordinary about either of those decisions, the lack of any scheduled media availability for Adofo-Mensah, O'Connell, or the new players (until now) was a bit unusual, which raised some questions among Vikings fans and media figures.

The team has said that there will be an in-person press conference with Adofo-Mensah at some point. Speculatively, is it possible they've been waiting in hopes that the Aaron Rodgers situation might reach a resolution before that happens? If that's still up in the air when Adofo-Mensah is made available, it'll inevitably be a topic of questioning. And for what it's worth, it doesn't sound like Rodgers is in any rush to make a decision.

The next time O'Connell speaks to the media might be at the NFL's annual league meeting, which will take place from March 30-April 2 in Palm Beach, FL.

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