From the moment they joined forces with the Vikings, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell had a

shared vision for the franchise. They always wanted to be playing meaningful games in Minnesota.

That has been the driving force behind the competitive rebuild that has become synonymous with the current regime. In the pursuit of

a Super Bowl, the Vikings were not going to sacrifice the present for the future. In other words, they weren’t willing to tank to become a contender.

As he sat in his office at TCO Performance Center this week with the trade deadline approaching, Adofo-Mensah kept coming back to

that shared vision. Though the Vikings had lost franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles less than 48 hours earlier, and

nobody would have blamed them for selling off some of their assets in response, Adofo-Mensah believed this group still deserved a

chance to compete for the playoffs.

As a result, the Vikings decided to add journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs for some added depth, and more importantly, resisted the

temptation to subtract star pass rusher Danielle Hunter for a high draft pick.

“I sat there and studied and I looked at all the different scenarios,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Ultimately, I made the decision to stand pat

and keep going the way we’re going.”

Naturally, as Adofo-Mensah answered questions about the trade deadline, the conversation went in so many different directions. Here

are some of the highlights of the 15 minutes:

After waking up from surgery on Wednesday morning, Cousins texted back and forth with Adofo-Mensah, mentioning how he hoped

to be ready to go by the time the Vikings start working out in the spring. The biggest issue is Cousins not having a contract beyond this season.

Is it possible that the Vikings bring him back?

“It’s like I said when we broke off talks the first time,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Every option is still available.”

That could include a reunion if both sides are able to come to an agreement. Asked if he personally wants Cousins under center next

season, Adofo-Mensah noted that it’s not up to him alone. There are a lot of factors that go into that decision that will be discussed at a later date.

“It’s a negotiation,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’ll have that dialogue when the time comes.”

As he contemplated his options this week, Adofo-Mensah fully understood that Hunter was the most intriguing piece he had to offer.

Hunter has 10 sacks this season — the most in the NFL — and could have helped a contender get over the hump. There’s a reason there

were so many rumors swirling over the past month.

“Look, he’s a talented pass rusher,” Adofo-Mensah said. “There’s going to be phone calls.”

In the end, the Vikings opted to hold on to Hunter, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The underlying storyline of this season is the fact that star receiver Justin Jefferson doesn’t have a contract extension. There were

thoughts that the Vikings were going to be able to work something out with their best player over the summer. That never happened.

Why?

“There’s a reason they don’t normally get done two years early and I’ll kind of leave it at that,” Adofo-Mensah said while noting that

the Vikings were working a year ahead of schedule trying to sign Jefferson to a contract extension. “You can look at salary caps and

contracts and new money and all that stuff.”

That doesn’t mean the Vikings won’t be able to come to an agreement with Jefferson at some point down the road.

“The dialogue was always super positive,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We think he’s the best receiver in the league, and we want him to be a

Viking for a long time. I think that’s how we start. We’ll figure out the rest.”

There were a lot of options for the Vikings when it came to adding a quarterback at the trade deadline.

They could take a big swing on an established starter. They could make a more calculated move for a backup. They could try to

convince somebody to come out of retirement.

All the while, the Vikings never lost sight of their process.

“We stuck to our guns of, ‘This is what we’re trying to get to,’ ” Adofo-Mensah said. “It kind of whittled it down to the number of

options we truthfully considered.”

That eventually led the Vikings to call the Cardinals and work out a deal to acquire Dobbs for a draft pick swap.

“My personnel staff had identified that he was somebody they had liked before,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Then when they saw he maybe

wasn’t starting, the ideas kind of clicked that maybe he’d be somebody who was available.”

The plan is for rookie quarterback Jaren Hall to start for the Vikings when they play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. After going back

and watching some of his tape this week, Adofo-Mensah is excited to see how Hall performs under the circumstances.

There’s a clear belief in Hall from the top down.

“It’s not going to look the same as Kirk Cousins, right?” Adofo-Mensah said. “I think there’s a way that Jaren Hall can play that we can function.”

That will be on display this weekend.