The sense one gets is that Paul Allen and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have a strong relationship.
Yes, there’s a professional dynamic at play since we’re talking about a media member alongside an NFL executive, but there’s a down-to-earth, charming banter that accompanies their sprawling interviews that can often feel like a conversation. One could easily envision them being pals if the Vikings were removed from their lives.
Last year, Allen made a quick quip that makes one think of the present-day Vikings.
The Voice of the Vikings was just getting into his interview with the GM when he references outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, a free-agent pick who performed better than anyone could have hoped. The defender was a Pro Bowler, an All Pro (second team), and a contender for Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 (7th in voting). What was the comment from Allen? Well, it was a joke about the defender picking off Sam Howell, the current QB2 in Minnesota.
Paul Allen, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, & The Joke that Came Full Circle
Allen, in a joking manner, discusses the danger of getting put in a “meat grinder” and then seeing his “access” taken away.
He claims to have caught the GM looking at his question sheet, a glimpse that wouldn’t be appreciated if the shoe had been on the other foot. The 2024 NFL Draft had yet to arrive, so Allen jokingly suggested that seeing some sort of secret information on Adofo-Mensah’s phone would have led to dire consequences in his professional life (like losing the ability to interview the GM).
Allen then pushes the lighthearted joke a bit further, suggesting that the GM now has insight about what questions are coming: “You look at my questions up and down, now you know my plays. And I’m just like sitting back like Sam Howell and you’re Andrew Van Ginkel and you’re about ready to pick it off and get to the endzone.”
Adofo-Mensah is chuckling and smiling through the joke, so everything was received in the right way.
The outcome that neither could foresee (I assume) was that a year later – during the 2025 NFL Draft – Sam Howell would get added via trade. Oh, and if you’re curious about the play being referenced, go ahead and see the moment of magic from Van Ginkel:
Vikings fans who followed the 2024 season will see the defender’s sensational play and smile. After all, the outside linebacker did the near identical thing to a pair of other quarterbacks – Daniel Jones in Week 1 and Aaron Rodgers in Week 5 – within the most recent season. Those tremendous plays helped to raise his profile around the NFL, causing those outside of Minnesota to notice his excellence.
One wonders if Van Ginkel and Howell have discussed the moment (which is to say nothing of what the initial meeting between Jones and Van Ginkel may have been like during the season).
In a sense, Paul Allen’s joke has come full circle. He was leaning on a recent signing (at the time) for comedic effect, doing so in a way that praises the outside linebacker. The quarterback who gets roped into the moment, ironically, is one who would end up being a trade acquisition a year(ish) later.
Sometimes, life in the NFL can be funny, something that Allen’s funny moment with Adofo-Mensah helps to underscore.
