Yesterday, the Minnesota Vikings fired General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The timing of the situation is unique because it is late in the offseason for Minnesota and because he was in Mobile, AL, all week at the Senior Bowl. I think there might be something deeper going on here. Let me explain.
Could the Seattle Seahawks‘ success be the reason why Adofo-Mensah was fired?
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Sam Darnold played in Minnesota in 2024, where he threw for 4,319 yards, with 35 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He had signed a one-year, $10 million deal in March of that year and was a pending free agent this past offseason, where he would go on to sign a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seahawks. This came shortly after they traded away Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s no secret to fans that Minnesota should have made it work with Darnold on the contract. The belief is that the Vikings came in much lower than the Seahawks, which is what led him to the Seahawks. Did it ever cross Adofo-Mensah’s mind that he should put the franchise tag on Darnold? At all? The tag last offseason was worth $40.2 million, but would have kept Darnold here no matter what. This opens up three different scenarios.
First, Darnold gets more money than he would have from Seattle, giving the team more time to make a decision or clear space to extend him. The Vikings finished 14-3 with Darnold under center, ultimately losing in the Wild Card to the Los Angeles Rams. Don’t we think another year of Darnold in this system would have yielded better results?
Second, Darnold says, I am not playing on the franchise tag; you need to extend me at the price I want. If they do not come to an agreement, you can trade him. While this isn’t ideal, you at least get something out of him, so he doesn’t walk for free. Darnold still gets to choose where he plays next, but at least you get some draft capital in return to help bolster this roster.
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Or, now call me crazy, you just pay the man. You figure out how to free up another $10 million and meet Seattle at that price and guarantee more money. You just watched him have a career year, and you don’t empty your pockets to pay him? I understand J.J. McCarthy is there, but unless you think McCarthy leads you to an equal or better record, you pay Darnold.
So why are the Seattle Seahawks to blame for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being fired?
Just look at their success this season. He’s thrown for 4,048 yards with a 25/14 TD/INT ratio, but has been a monster in the playoffs. The brass in Minnesota sees this and believes it should have been them, and they are placing the blame on Adofo-Mensah for not making more of an effort to get a deal done. It can’t be ignored. Seattle has found their franchise guy and is on the verge of a Super Bowl win, and Minnesota is still trying to figure out the quarterback position.
It all could have been so simple. Instead, Minnesota is now out of a GM and has to watch their former quarterback potentially lift the Lombardi Trophy one year after leaving.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Did the Vikings fire their GM due to the Seahawks success?
