Manufactured Controversy Aimed at Vikings QB for 2nd Day in a Row
Dustin Baker
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In yet another bizarre turn of events on Thursday, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was chided by some for “spending time with family.” Yes, family.
The faux criticism marked the second straight day that media entities, NFL analysts, and fans teed off on the quarterback for zany reasons. Last weekend, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah told USA Today his team didn’t have a Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes-caliber QB1, so folks rushed to the internet to imply the executive “doesn’t like” his quarterback or that Cousins could be on borrowed time in Minnesota.
In the USA Today interview, Adofo-Mensah suggested Cousins was the best option for the Vikings now, but Super Bowl probability inevitably increases when a team has the best football player of all time. Breaking news, right?
Adofo-Mensah said about finding a Brady or Mahomes-type QB, “I believe in decision science and our abilities. I don’t believe that I can pick the next Pat Mahomes that much better than anybody. If you give me five chances, I think we’d be better, and we’d get four out of five rather than three out of five. But one shot, your odds are at best 65%, so they study this.”
Adofo-Mensah continued by saying the Super Bowl “is more likely to win if you have that quarterback, but it’s very unlikely to have that quarterback.”
So, yes, various personalities used the exec’s quote to conjure friction between him and Cousins — which simply doesn’t exist.
Then on Thursday, likeminded individuals used a quote from wideout Justin Jefferson to similarly lambast the Vikings signal-caller.
Cousins worked out with Vikings WRs in March.
Still, the usual suspects hopped on Twitter to comment on Jefferson’s mention of Cousins’ family.
The replies and retweets of Chris Tomasson’s post ranged in the hundreds, with the majority condemning Cousins for choosing his family during the Vikings six-week summer break over a throwing session in Florida.
And one more for the road.
Jefferson, who accidentally started the Cousins-family ruckus, tweeted on Thursday evening, “Taking my words out of proportion…..”
Like most Cousins-related dustups, this one will blow over in a few days, but his magnetism for people’s irrational admonishment will not. The cycle is neverending. And, to be sure, had Cousins chosen “football over family” in some capacity, the controversy would still simmer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. 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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