Q&A: Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on team’s 2025 outlook, J.J. McCarthy’s trajectory

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a new contract from ownership and one of the most expensive rosters in the NFL.

There’s no downplaying expectations that it’s time for the first playoff win by the 43-year-old GM and coach Kevin O’Connell, who also got a new deal this offseason. And Adofo-Mensah isn’t trying to downplay their goals.

“We don’t hide our ambition,” he said. “That’s not something we do in this building. We are trying to be one of the last teams standing — every team should embrace that. Every team should wake up and say this is where we want to be, otherwise why are we doing this? We’re excited, we run towards that smoke, as you will."

Adofo-Mensah joined the “Access Vikings” podcast on Thursday to talk about his new contract, lessons on the job, expectations for next season and new quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

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This excerpt of the interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

A: I really didn’t think about it that much and probably maybe should have a little bit more. But I always just try to live my life: “What am I going to do tomorrow?” And is that going to change what I was going to do tomorrow? No. I’m going to wake up along with Kevin [O’Connell] and everybody else in this building and try to chase our goals. I would say for everybody else around me — my family, people like that — where maybe they don’t have the same steely demeanor about these things, I think maybe it was a relief. They wanted it for me. But I always approach it from a state of gratitude. You think back on your life and all the moments where if one thing had been different, maybe I don’t even get the job in San Francisco, maybe I don’t meet Andrew Berry, maybe I don’t get the job in Minnesota. ... The goal of this job for me was not to earn a contract extension, it was to bring the franchise their first championships. This obviously will allow us more time to do so, but still wired and incredibly hungry to do that thing we set out to do.

Q: Where do you feel like you’ve grown the most in the job?

A: It’s almost like parenthood. The doctor puts the baby in your hand and you’re a parent, you know, and you can say you’re ready, but there’s just some stuff that happens that you maybe weren’t ready for and you just lean on the resilience and the things you’ve done in your life that have gotten you to that point. I think the general manager job is no different. You grow in the job. ... You have to build buy-in and consensus. Those are the things I’d probably say I’ve grown the most in. I think I’ve always had a good ear for people to listen to them and make them feel heard and validated. Then it’s that next step of, “Guys, here’s how we connect all this. Here’s how we go in this direction together,” and do it in a way that’s understanding but also discerning and direct. ... There are times where as a leader they’re looking for you to make that decision that is maybe 50/50 and maybe those things aren’t clear.

Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges of the job?

A: I was prepared really well for the job by [Browns GM] Andrew Berry. He’d call me into his office and say, “Hey, you’ll never guess what I’m dealing with right now.” The job of general manager — we have a text chain that another friend of ours is on and I’m not going to name him — but it’s called, “Are you sure you want this life?” The different things that people have no idea a general manger has to deal with, so I was pretty prepared for that. ... You’re managing people. The general manager title I think people need to appreciate I’m not sitting here playing fantasy football. Those are things I’d probably do for free, to be honest. What you have to do is really galvanize a group of people. Try to take all the things they want in their lives and try to achieve what they want to achieve. ... When your door opens, other people’s worries and issues come through it, and that’s my job.

A: This was a part of the plan the whole time, just knowing that we would have these resources, maybe moving on from that first core that we inherited and kind of came to this place here. Pressure — obviously I’m not one of the players on the field — but we brought in a lot of players that wake up every day trying to be the best version of themselves, so when you approach every day that way, I feel you don’t look too far in front of your face.

Q: How do you project McCarthy after he missed his rookie year and threw fewer passes than his peers in college?

A: It’s a lot of projection, but it’s projection with other things that might be a little more known. We think about the team around him, right? So how do we support J.J.? We provide a really good offensive line in front of him to protect him, to protect the passer, also to be able to run the football and set our whole offense up in down and distances that make it easier on him and make it easier on any quarterback, to be frank. With J.J., the bet has always been the talent and the football makeup. ... The gap between what he’s been able to show just because it’s been a small sample and what’s to come is our belief in the football makeup. He’s going to go home just like Kevin, like myself, like the leaders in this organization and give every single thing he can to the accomplishment of our goals, and I can sleep at night with that, right? I talk about minimize regret all the time. I’m never going to regret going into battle with people like that.

Q: What were your expectations for McCarthy before the injury last August?

A: It’d be hard for me to talk about that alone because when you have a QB Ph.D or a QB Nobel laureate in your building, you lean on [O’Connell] often. So, we had constant dialogue and conversation about what we wanted for J.J. that year and he started exceeding them pretty quickly. We were pretty clear, I think, publicly that we didn’t want him to play. We just thought for the kind of better success of his career, it’s better to sit and watch. He kind of pushed. He was pushing a little bit to maybe even becoming the backup or different things like that, but just the day-over-day growth he would show, he was so coachable. ... And you really saw the arm talent and different things like that, the ability to move in the pocket. He was on the come. We were excited about it. ... If people remember, the Raiders played their first-team defense while he was in the [preseason] game. So, we did get a little glimpse of seeing him against regular season NFL-type players. We just loved it. Not only just the play but how he played. He threw the interception as people remember. You talk to the coaches, there was just a positivity and a joy that he played with that he was going to come back and he had that great recovery. Those are moments that matter. Not necessarily that he completed the passes, but he didn’t go in the tank, he came over on the sideline, got his coaching point, took it and went out there and played with his teammates. That was an exciting time for us. What was so amazing about the injury was how he handled it, the maturity with how he handled it. I remember him saying, “Well, this will give Sam [Darnold] just the platform he needs,” and obviously Sam went on to have the year he had.

A: I don’t know that there’s a great comp for this. ... A lot of the bet we made — I talked a lot about J.J. the person, but let me talk a little bit about what’s in this building. I think we have maybe the best QB incubator in the NFL. So, when you put a person in the QB incubator with all that ability and all that mindset, I just feel so confident about what’s going to come out the other end. ... Ultimately in this job, you have to make bets, you have to believe something before other people see it. So that’s a lot of what gives me confidence. I wish there was more of a cleaner comp to give me that extra confidence, but it’s the belief I have in this building and the belief I have in this player.

Q: The NFL recently voted to allow players to participate in the 2028 Olympics in flag football. How would you feel about a Vikings player in the Games?

A: That is a question I don’t want to answer. The growth of the game has been so cool, and I know the NFL does such a great job internationally. I think obviously this will be the next step. You’ve seen the growth in female flag football, which has been awesome for the game. I am in no way poo-pooing all of those positive things, but obviously in my job just like when internationals go from soccer to their club team, you are gonna be focused on your own risk and, “Hey, is that player from that country who gets one minute to go against Justin Jefferson, is he really gonna take care of Justin Jefferson the way I need him to take care of Justin Jefferson?” Those are obviously things that go through my head. Those will be conversations we have with the player, with the league at larger levels. But excited for what it’s gonna mean for the game. One of our players, Brian Asamoah, who’s leading Team Ghana, which I’m so proud of him for that and excited to root for both the U.S. and Ghana. I’m looking forward to that, but obviously as a GM, it’s a little complicated.