Vikings New Boss Explains the Cousins’ Extension

Vikings New Boss Explains the Cousins' Extension
Mark Wilf and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

The Minnesota Vikings extended quarterback Kirk Cousins for an extra year on Sunday, securing his services through the end of the 2023 season. Cousins will earn an average of $35 million per season over the next two years.

The news was not met by Vikings fans will universal praise as Cousins is a divisive figure. Even though Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning (twice), and Trent Dilfer have won Super Bowls in this millennium, some onlookers of the Vikings refuse to believe Cousins can take the Lombardi-thirsty Vikings to the Promised Land.

Unfortunately for them, Minnesota’s new management disagrees.

On "Trade or Extend," Vikings GM Level Sets the Kirk Cousins Situation
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired as general manager in January to replace Rick Spielman — who signed Cousins in the first place — to effectuate a fresh and collaborative era of Vikings football. Many believed Adofo-Mensah would trade Cousins to align with their opinion of the quarterback as a guy “who can’t get it done.” Alas, Adofo-Mensah thought differently, explaining the extension of Cousins:

“Kirk was one of the first players I called when I joined the Vikings, and it was immediately clear how much he cares about this organization and about winning. High level quarterback play is a prerequisite to building a championship team, and we are confident Kirk will continue along that path.”

– Kwesi Adofo-Mensah | Minnesota Vikings

When the aforementioned Spielman and Mike Zimmer were terminated after the 2021 regular season, the Vikings ownership, the Wilfs, point-blank told fans the team would be competitive in 2021. Some believed that was pandering or flat-out falsehood, choosing to surmise the team would embark on a full rebuild despite saying the opposite.

It turned out the Vikings brass wasn’t lying. They told you what they were doing.

Adofo-Mensah thinks the Vikings can win with Cousins — and that’s probably why the franchise hired an old coach of his in Kevin O’Connell. Every year when a regular season comes to a close, Cousins is around the 11th-best quarterback in football. Plain and simple. When one averages all metrics, Cousins winds up right at the 10th or 11th spot.

Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s dedication to their professional craft (football) supersedes what fans see via “eye tests” on their sofas. The sooner this can be understood — the easier it becomes the rationale for extending Cousins.

Cousins’ “problem” has always been the money. He’s typically about the eighth-highest-paid quarterback in the league, and fans relentlessly want him to play like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. But Cousins is not in that class.

And that’s why his $35 million-per-year extension is dwarfed by men like Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, or Dak Prescott. Cousins is damn good — not elite.

As it turns out, Adofo-Mensah believes the Vikings can win a Super Bowl with damn good, just like the Rams did in 2021 with Matthew Stafford, who had a 74-90-1 “quarterback record” when traded to Los Angeles in 2021.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).


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