GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah says Vikings plan to 'keep going the way we're going'

Before the Vikings got back to .500 by defeating the Packers 24-10 on Sunday, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said he received messages from multiple veteran players on the team who wanted to tell the boss, in so many words, not to sell at the trade deadline.

"'Kwes, we're gelling. We love this team. We love being here.'" Adofo-Mensah recalled Wednesday. "They didn't need to do that, but I love the relationship I have with those guys that they felt comfortable enough to reach out through different channels to say that. Obviously, won the game the way we did, and ultimately, I made the decision that we made to stand pat and keep going the way we're going."

The most telling moves Tuesday were the ones the Vikings didn't make, They did not bring in a long-term threat to quarterback Kirk Cousins, instead acquiring 28-year-old Joshua Dobbs, and they did not deal edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who remained in purple despite continued interest from other teams.

The Bears traded a second-round pick to Washington for edge rusher Montez Sweat, while the 49ers sent a third-round pick to the Commanders for edge rusher Chase Young.

The Vikings got no such additional draft capital for the 29-year-old Hunter, whose 10 sacks and expiring contract are setting him up for a nice payday in March. Adofo-Mensah said he didn't see a path to playing meaningful games without players such as Hunter. He wouldn't divulge trade discussions.

"He's a talented pass rusher," Adofo-Mensah said. "He's leading the league in sacks, there's gonna be phone calls."

The Vikings are trying to remain competitive without Cousins, who underwent successful surgery Wednesday morning. Adofo-Mensah said the Achilles injury added "a curveball" and "a little uncertainty" to the team's outlook at quarterback. The 35-year-old Cousins is also scheduled to be a free agent in March after playing what coach Kevin O'Connell called the best football of his career.

Adofo-Mensah singled out Cousins' past four games when asked if the quarterback's play had changed anything about the team's interest in re-signing him.

"Kirk played great," Adofo-Mensah said. "I think my want for Kirk to come back isn't just a me thing. It's a negotiation. You come together at the table, and you try and see if everything works together, and we'll have that dialogue when the time comes."

"All options are open as they were before the injury," he added.

There's also "a little uncertainty" about backup quarterback Nick Mullens' health, Adofo-Mensah said. Mullens, who has a back injury, is eligible to return from injured reserve next week, but O'Connell said they're just hopeful he'll come back at some point this season.

Dobbs, who started all eight of Arizona's games this season, gives the Vikings another experienced quarterback.

The Vikings personnel department had previously rated Dobbs highly. Adofo-Mensah had followed Dobbs since the 2017 draft, when he was doing research for the 49ers, and knows people in Cleveland, where Dobbs spent 2022 and 2023 training camps.

Dobbs was on the short list of Vikings' QB options, despite myriad suggestions.

"When you have a quarterback injury in the NFL, your phone becomes the most popular phone, I think, in the Minnesota area," Adofo-Mensah said. "A lot of people want to come here because they love Minnesota. A lot of people want to play for Kevin. A lot of people want to come be on this team and this offense. So, there were a lot of options. But again, this whole time we stuck to our guns — 'This is what we're trying to do. This is what we're trying to get to.' It kind of whittles it down to the number of options we actually, truthfully considered."

Dobbs practiced for the first time Wednesday, when rookie Jaren Hall took first-team reps in preparation for his first NFL start on Sunday in Atlanta. Cousins told teammates he'd return to TCO Performance Center soon.

"Not having him here in the building, you just feel that," tight end T.J. Hockenson said. "He said he was going to be back here in a week or so. Hopefully we'll get him back and just be able to have his vibe."

Receiver Justin Jefferson, who is eligible to return from injured reserve next week, participated in on-field physical rehab work with Vikings trainers before practice.

Adofo-Mensah, talking to reporters for the first time since Aug. 31, was asked why the team didn't sign Jefferson to a new contract before talks broke off by the Sept. 10 season opener. He said the remaining years on Jefferson's rookie deal, with the fifth-year option already picked up for 2024, were a factor.

"There's a reason they don't normally get done two years early," Adofo-Mensah said. "I'll kind of leave it at that. You can look at salary caps and contracts and new money and all that stuff. There's just reasons why it's harder to do it in those periods of time. But the dialogue was always super positive. We think he's the best receiver in the league, and we want him to be a Viking for a long time."