Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah says the team wants J.J. McCarthy to start at QB in 2025

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah met with reporters Wednesday afternoon to recap a two-week stretch of free agency where the team made more than $300 million of contract commitments and revamped both lines of scrimmage.

Much of the session, though, focused on two contract negotiations that haven’t been consummated.

Adofo-Mensah confirmed the Vikings talked with Aaron Rodgers, whose long-standing relationship with coach Kevin O’Connell was a catalyst for the discussions. He said the Vikings are happy with their quarterback room, and are moving forward with the hope that J.J. McCarthy will be the starter in 2025. The discussions with Rodgers, he said, ended with the Vikings ”feeling good about where we’re going.” But when given the opportunity to close the door on Rodgers coming to Minnesota, Adofo-Mensah declined to do so.

“For me to sit here and say that anything’s 100%, forever, that’s just not the job, right?” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’re responding to scenarios and different information as it comes. So, obviously things can change.“

The GM’s contract also expires after the 2025 season, and while he said his agent continues to talk with the team about a new deal, there’s still no agreement. “I trust people to do that for me,” Adofo-Mensah said. “I promise you, I don’t wake up thinking about that for one second. I wake up thinking about, ‘How do we improve this team?’ ”

Here are some takeaways from Adofo-Mensah’s news conference:

Adofo-Mensah said McCarthy has succeeded “at every checkpoint” in his rehab from knee surgery, and “the outcome we want” is McCarthy starting in 2025. But from what the GM said Wednesday, the Vikings’ QB plan seems consistent with what we’ve heard all offseason.

Adofo-Mensah said the Vikings still are looking for upgrades to the quarterback room, while being mindful of their chances to land compensatory picks in the 2026 draft. Any veteran signed after 3 p.m. April 28 will not count against the compensatory pick formula; the Vikings could wait until then to add an experienced QB like Joe Flacco or Ryan Tannehill. They’re projected to be in line for two compensatory picks as of now, after losing Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones; Adofo-Mensah’s comments suggest they want to protect their chances of receiving those picks.

So where does Rodgers factor in to that? It’s not in the Vikings’ nature to close the door to a possibility, even as all signs in the past week have pointed to it being unlikely Rodgers winds up in Minnesota. But if the four-time MVP remained unsigned and the Vikings needed a QB later this summer, it’s tough to completely close the door. The only thing that will do that is if Rodgers signs somewhere else.

In an interview from the NFL Players Association golf tournament in Mexico this week, McCarthy said the Vikings haven’t promised him the top QB job, while adding he’s glad they haven’t guaranteed him anything. Adofo-Mensah said Wednesday that before he came to the media room to talk to reporters, he asked O’Connell, “Does anybody ever tell the quarterback they’re QB1?”

“Our conversations with him have always been about [his] development, being the best version of yourself,” he added. “So when you [ask about how McCarthy feels about the Vikings talking to Rodgers], I don’t know if it’s necessarily [about] feelings. It’s about what we think actually tangibly impacts him, reaching the ceiling we want him to reach, all those dynamics that actually matter for him. Because, look: We’re trying to win a championship. That doesn’t always happen in one year. … Obviously, feelings matter. I’m not here to say that they don’t. But for us, it’s really just focused on getting the best version of him.”

The Vikings needed less than two weeks after the conclusion of the 2024 season to finalize a contract extension with Kevin O’Connell that runs through 2029; they remain without a deal for Adofo-Mensah a month before the NFL draft.

When asked if his contract uncertainty had affected his approach to the offseason, though, the GM stressed it wasn’t in his character to do it.

“I think when you sit down and interview me and get to know the person I am, integrity-wise, I don’t think you’d ever question whether I do the right thing by the organization for the future,” he said. “I’m not perfect. I have my flaws. But willingness to do the right thing by the organization is not one of them. I don’t think they worry about that. Because again, I plan to be the person that’s here when we ultimately accomplish our goals, and that’s what I’m working toward.“

Adofo-Mensah said deals “don’t come in straight lines,” and added the Wilfs continue to have “positive dialogue“ with his agent on a contract. The GM inherited a roster full of veteran players on hefty contracts, as Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer kept their roster together in an effort to save their jobs. The Vikings moved for 30-something free agents like Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave this offseason, though defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ push for interior pass rushers played a major role in those moves.

After re-signing 30-year-old running back Aaron Jones to a two-year deal at the beginning of free agency, the Vikings made another move to help their backfield, trading for 49ers running back Jordan Mason before agreeing to a two-year deal with him.

Mason is only 25, and he could be a successor to Jones if the Vikings feel a need to get younger after this year. In 2025, though, his role could increase when the Vikings are trying to close out games.

“We’re really excited about the tandem,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Just the physical play style [with Mason], really more of a four-minute [offense] back. When he gets to the second level, he can do a lot of things with contact balance. And Aaron, for a small guy, runs pretty physical himself. We just like the pairing. If we’ve got to run it 40 times, we want to run it 40 times with those two guys.”

The Vikings have been working through different approaches with their running game since Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell came to town, and they could lean on it even more this year if they’re building the roster around McCarthy. According to Sports Info Solutions, the Vikings gained first downs on just 15.7% of their carries in the final four minutes of a game when they had a lead, which ranked 24th in the NFL.

If Mason can gain tough yards and help them seal victories, he’d provide help in an area where they need it.

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