Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is officially a Minnesota Viking.
The former Cleveland Browns vice president of football operations put out his first statement on Wednesday night after being named general manager of the Vikings organization.
“I am extremely thankful to the Wilf family and Vikings organization for giving me the opportunity to lead our football operations and join this respected franchise,” Adofo-Mensah’s statement said. “There is so much to appreciate about this organization—an existing nucleus of talent on the roster, top-notch facilities, passionate fans and smart people throughout the building who are committed to winning. I look forward to partnering with our next head coach and our entire football operations staff to begin our work of bringing a Super Bowl to Vikings fans.”
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on being named the #Vikings General Manager pic.twitter.com/adRP60LfjF
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 27, 2022
There aren’t many close connections with Adofo-Mensah to be confident with guesses as to what direction he’ll ultimately go in when hiring the Vikings’ next head coach.
This is a situation where he’ll have to hit the ground running.
The Vikings are roughly $12 million over the salary cap. Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ contract, which comes due in 2023, has a cap hit of $45 million in the upcoming 2022 season. The defense needs serious work with contracts expiring and things falling apart, following a year where they were ranked as the second-worst unit in the league. There’s also work to be done along the offensive line.
Congratulations are certainly in order for Adofo-Mensah, but I wouldn’t expect any long-winded celebrations in Minnesota, especially when there’s so much to get done.
