Don’t punish Minnesota Vikings GM for not coddling Kirk Cousins

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently came under fire for some comments about quarterback Kirk Cousins.

One week ago, on July 22nd, a story was released by USA Today that featured an interview with new Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. In the interview, Adofo-Mensah talked about his approach to his new role, some of his philosophies, and of course, there was a discussion about Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

When describing Cousins, Minnesota’s general manager called him “a good quarterback,” but he was also honest and said that the Vikings’ current signal-caller isn’t Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.

Adofo-Mensah wasn’t breaking any news when he shared these comments about Cousins, but for some reason, others interpreted what Minnesota’s general manager said as a criticism of the team’s starting quarterback.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t walk on eggshells when talking about Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

What Adofo-Mensah said about Cousins was nothing short of the truth. The problem is that people likely didn’t expect these comments to come from the Vikings’ new general manager.

Ever since the arrival of Adofo-Mensah and new head coach Kevin O’Connell, the vibe at Minnesota’s facilities has been very positive. Based on this positivity, most probably assumed O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah were going to spend the 2022 and 2023 seasons as Cousins’ personal cheerleaders.

However, the Vikings‘ general manager has already made it clear that he’s not afraid to be honest either. Perhaps Adofo-Mensah is trying a different philosophy with Cousins?

Ever since the veteran quarterback signed with the organization, it has felt like Minnesota has made multiple decisions that wouldn’t significantly impact his mental state (see keeping Sean Mannion as his backup). But some of these decisions also eliminated any sort of adversity for Cousins.

Providing help to someone is usually a good idea. But eliminating almost all forms of adversity could result in an inability to conquer any obstacles that are presented in the future. When it comes to Cousins, conquering obstacles is something he has definitely struggled with during his tenure with the Vikings.

So maybe Adofo-Mensah’s comments from his USA Today interview were a way to let Cousins know that Minnesota’s new general manager will always be upfront and honest with him, regardless of how it might impact the quarterback’s psyche.

At times Cousins might not like what he’s hearing from Adofo-Mensah, but at least the quarterback knows he’s getting the truth from the team’s general manager. Proving Adofo-Mensah wrong could then even serve as motivation for Cousins to perform better than he ever has in his career.

Bottom line. Is Cousins better than Brady? No. Is he better than Mahomes? No. Can he be better than these two in 2022? Anything is possible. But for now, Cousins is just a good, not great, NFL quarterback, which is how Adofo-Mensah described him in his interview with USA Today.