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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 08: General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 08, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings‘ ownership made a surprise decision to move on from general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last month.
The former GM had been with the organization for four years since taking over in January 2022, and alongside head coach Kevin O’Connell had achieved a 43-25 regular record over the period.
Whilst different stories came out as potential reasons for his abrupt dismissal, including his lack of success in the draft and his decision to take two weeks of paternity leave in 2023, speaking on February 26 Peter Schrager outlined a very blunt reality as to why the now 49ers executive was removed from his position.
“They fired the GM because he had Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and an interested Aaron Rodgers in the building, and he said, no, we’re good with JJ and Max Brosmer and Carson Wentz are gonna be his backups.”
– @PSchrags on Kwesi’s firing as Vikings GM
Vikings GM Fired Due to Quarterback Decision-Making
“This was a 14-win team and they fired their GM less than 12 months later, and it’s not because of the paternity leave or the relationship with Kevin O’Connell. Schrager said on ESPN’s Get up.
“They fired the GM because he had Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and an interested Aaron Rodgers in the building, and he said, ‘No, we’re good with J.J. and Max Brosmer and Carson Wentz are gonna be his backups’ – they’re not going to make the same mistake twice.”
Many conflicting reports seemed to imply a lack of consensus as to whether it was Adofo-Mensah or O’Connell who ultimately decided to roll with J.J. McCarthy, Wentz and Brosmer over Darnold, Jones and Rodgers – although it was widely reported that the Vikings did make a similar offer to Jones than the one he ultimately ended up accepting in Indianapolis.
Was it a Major Error to Move Forward With J.J. McCarthy?
According to Schrager and presumably the Wolf family – who own the Vikings – yes. But in reality each of the other options that Minnesota could have gone with came with their own baggage, despite all three having had far better seasons than McCarthy did in 2025.
Rodgers may have played his final game in the NFL, and always represented a short-term option that only serve to delay McCarthy’s debut even further. Jones was excellent this past season, but his sample size of that level of play is just 13 games, off of which it would seemingly be un-prudent to sign him to a long-term deal.
Fundamentally, the Vikings made a commitment when they drafted McCarthy to give him multiple years to develop and become a starting-level quarterback in the league.
And to cast him aside after just one season -during which he was injured – in favor of an expensive, older veteran QB, none of whom had shown to be elite level players at that point in their career (41 year old Rodgers is not MVP Rodgers from 2020), would have been a heavy-handed move by Adofo-Mensah.
Ultimately the 44-year old’s decision cost him his job, but in the long term giving their young QB more game-time experience and placing their trust in him could end up being the correct move for the organization.
Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas
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