The Cleveland Browns haven’t seen much success under general manager Andrew Berry but his learning tree had a great day as two former pupils were rewarded. The Minnesota Vikings announced that they have come to terms on a contract extension with former Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, but he wasn’t the only one that had reason to celebrate.
The Vikings also promoted a former Browns executive to a new role and his previous experience as a general manager and a member of the Cleveland front office, led many to call it a surprising move.
Vikings Promote Former Browns Exec Ryan Grigson to Assistant General Manager
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reports that Ryan Grigson and Demitrius Washington will be promoted to general manager in addition to Adofo-Mensah’s extension. Pelissero adds that Grigson and Washington have been Adofo-Mensah’s “top lieutenants" since arriving to Minnesota in 2022 and have now been rewarded for their efforts.
Adofo-Mensah served as the vice president of football operations under Berry from 2020 and 2021 before he was hired by the Vikings in 2022. Grigson served as the senior personnel executive for Cleveland in 2017 and returned to the organization as the senior football advisor in 2020 and 2021. Adofo-Mensah brought Grigson over as senior vice president of player personnel when he went to Minnesota and the two have helped the Vikings go 34-17 with a pair of playoff appearances in three seasons.
While Grigson had the connection, his promotion is a little shocking. Grigson spent time with the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles at the beginning of his career but he’s most known for his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts where he failed to build a supporting cast around Andrew Luck. With his offensive line in shambles, Grigson was fired after five seasons and Luck retired at the age of 29 two seasons later.
Minnesota has a similar situation with J.J. McCarthy stepping into the starting quarterback role, but Grigson won’t be the one making the decisions. With Adofo-Mensah and Grigson in place, the Vikings are hoping for the success the Browns have been unable to find under Berry, which could lead to the latter getting a second chance as a general manager in the future.