Anonymous Source Has Wild Claims about Vikings GM
The Minnesota Vikings employ general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell at the top of the ticket, a duo responsible for the NFL’s sixth-best record since the start of 2022.
Anonymous Source Has Wild Claims about Vikings GM
Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell took over just over three years ago and fundamentally changed the franchise’s course, jettisoning aging and expensive players in favor of a new-look strategy of youth, especially with quarterback J.J. McCarthy at QB1.
But some question the team’s power structure, and The Athletic took center stage with that endeavor last week.
Beef with the Free Agent Strategy
The Athletic‘s Mike Sando wrote about Minnesota’s recent free agent class: “The top three free agents Minnesota signed — guard Will Fries ($17.5 million APY, turns 27 on Friday), defensive tackle Jonathan Allen ($17 million APY, age 30) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave ($15 million APY, age 32) — combined to miss 35 of 51 games last season.”
“That caught execs’ attention at a time when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has an unresolved contract. Some are questioning who is making the decisions for Minnesota.”
Most Vikings fans adored the free-agent strategies, finally empowering the offensive and defensive trenches after years of half-measured solutions.
Sando then quoted an anonymous NFL executive: “It’s like the 2015 Colts all over again, signing older guys who have been hurt, who are on third or fourth contracts,” and added context about the “Indianapolis team that added 30-something former stars Trent Cole, Frank Gore, Kendall Langford and Andre Johnson in free agency.”
It’s evidently taboo to sign players whose market value is lower because of recent injuries.
The unnamed executive added, “You cannot build a team with old players, especially old players who have been cut because they were hurt.”
Ryan Grigson as the String Puller
That wasn’t it from The Athletic. Its sourcing questioned whether Vikings Senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Grigson is secretly more powerful than most believe.
Sando noted, “Indy’s then-general manager, Ryan Grigson, is now the Vikings’ senior vice president of player personnel. Although Minnesota has struggled in the draft recently, the team has fared well at finding veteran pieces for defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Will Allen and Hargrave be next?”
The same anonymous exec piled on: “There is no more fascinating team than Minnesota because they have 13- and 14-win seasons over the past three years but no playoff win to show for it and only one division title. The head coach seems like a difference maker, a multiplier. If Kwesi does not get a new deal, would they just promote Grigson? It’s fascinating.”
Promoting Grigson when Adofo-Mensah is very much the general manager — his existing contract runs through the 2026 NFL Draft — is quite bizarre.
Questioning the Power Structure
Rounding out the wild theory, Sando’s musings used Aaron Rodgers’ presence in the Vikings’ rumor mill as evidence that the power structure could be upside down.
“The team’s handling of its quarterback situation also invited speculation, with execs suggesting Minnesota’s interest in Aaron Rodgers reflected uncertainty regarding J.J. McCarthy’s readiness to lead the team. Rodgers, who turns 42 in December, now stands as a potential fallback option later in the offseason, amid expectations he’ll sign with Pittsburgh instead,” he opined.
Minnesota has spoken rather candidly about Rodgers in recent weeks, saying it explored him as a 2025 quarterback option but ultimately chose McCarthy as “the guy” henceforth.
Vikings Owners Push Back
At NFL league meetings last week, Vikings owner Mark Wilf outwardly committed to Adofo-Mensah, appearing to squash the power structure gossip or anything relating to Grigson in its tracks.
Wilf told reporters “not to read much into it” regarding Adofo-Mensah’s extension delay and approved the franchise’s overall direction. He also hinted that a new contract for the young general manager wasn’t far away.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s 2024 Free Agent Class
Last offseason, Adofo-Mensah swung for the fences in free agency, signing Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, and others. Folks universally approved the moves, particularly when the Vikings finished the season with a 14-3 record — after oddsmakers claimed the team would win seven or eight games.
One might think that would buy Adofo-Mensah the benefit of the doubt — some grace and goodwill — but instead, his 2025 offseason evidently involves power structure rumors, along with fodder that one of his lieutenants could be calling the shots.
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