The agenda stacked on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's desk is packed with big decisions. Every NFL offseason requires general managers to do some degree of roster rebuilding and financial gymnastics. That's just the nature of the business.
What Adofo-Mensah is staring at falls into a different category.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of his scheme to the Vikings this season. The one-time Wall Street commodities trader believes in the power of collaboration, but that is his trend, his legacy, in what marks the organization's most impactful layoff in a decade.
Very good luck, Kwesi. Don't get this wrong.
“It is very important,” Adofo-Mensah admitted on Wednesday in his closing press conference of the season. “I can't really escape that in any way.”
All of the overall decisions are interconnected because each move has a domino effect on the salary cap and the money available to address an abundance of roster flaws.
The starting point, of course, is at centre-back and Adofo Mensah has reiterated that he hopes to re-sign Kirk Cousins but nothing is certain until after negotiations.
I asked Adofo-Mensah if he would have enough money left over to fix roster deficiencies if he chose to re-sign Cousins and give Justin Jefferson what is expected to be a historic contract, with left tackle Christian Darrisaw waiting on deck for a huge payday. .
“I think we do,” he said.
That remains to be seen. One big bump in the road is that Adofo-Mensah must solve the problem he created with the 2022 draft, his first appearance in charge of personnel.
Adofo-Mensah selected six players in the first 165 picks, five of whom were defensive players. The influence of these five was minimal. One of the selections, former Gophers linebacker Esezi Otomewo, is no longer a member of the organization. After two seasons, neither of these players can be described as a long-term building block.
Adofo-Mensah noted that each player develops at a different rate and certainly the final analysis cannot yet be written about the 2022 class, but the lack of influence of that group forces Adofo-Mensah to re-address the positions he intended to establish in his career. First draft.
The defense's depth has been exposed this season in large part due to the abundance of mistakes on draft day.
Adofo-Mensah, 42 and approaching his second anniversary with the Vikings, likes to think about his background in risk management when discussing football operations. The safest option at quarterback is to re-sign Cousins and use the No. 11 pick on the quarterback. That addresses today and tomorrow in the most important position. But again, what is the direct impact on other situations?
Fans have been growing dissatisfied with the job performances of Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell this season. Adofo-Mensah needs to pull the right strings to put the Vikings on a path that will eventually move the organization out of the playoff bubble's power field. Sometimes they make it to the playoffs, sometimes they don't. But they don't hit the bottom, and they don't rise to be a true championship contender.
Owner Mark Wilf laid out his vision — perhaps with his family's guidance — on the day the team fired general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer two years ago. Wilf said he expects the team to be “super competitive” in 2022.
The Vikings won 13 games in O'Connell's first season. The Wilfs are fans. They love to win. They don't hide their feelings, whether they are happy or depressed, after matches.
The guess here is that ownership doesn't have the stomach for the kind of losing season that warrants a top-3 pick and a choice of two quarterbacks.
They may be seeing a roster with enough talent to compete for a playoff spot, but making the leap from that distinction to the next level requires tough decisions and smart personnel evaluations.
Adofo-Mensah noted that his original goal of “rebuilding competitiveness” needed to be modified.
“We want to get to a place where there is no rebuilding,” he said. “It's just competition in the window. I think we're close to that.”
How close is debatable. They don't feel close now.
Adofo-Mensah enters a specified period of leave – defining his tenure and the future of the organization.
