Vikings Owner Says the Obvious about Kirk Cousins’ Future
Dustin Baker
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For about six months, the Minnesota Vikings message regarding Kirk Cousins’ future with the team has been consistent. Hell, even Cousins personally has shared the same sentiment.
The Vikings + Cousins are linked for 2023, and after that, it’s wait-and-see.
Vikings Owner Says the Obvious about Kirk Cousins’ Future
Cousins turns 35 in a week and a half, and age was a brand new factor in ‘The Cousins Debate’ this offseason. Ages 35, 36, or 37 are generally when some quarterbacks begin to decline, so Vikings fans will watch Cousins intently in 2023.
Meanwhile, Vikings owner Mark Wilf reiterated his feeling on Cousins’ future in Minnesota this week, telling ESPN it’s up to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell to decide, presumably next offseason.
“We’ll leave that to Kwesi and Coach to work through those discussions. There’s always conversations on that. But our real focus is 100% on 2023 and getting where we need to be, and where I know we can be,” Wilf explained.
In March, Wilf stopped by NFL Network’s Good Morning Football Monday and [basically] said the same thing, “Kirk’s an outstanding quarterback. He’s done a great job for us. This past season with Kevin O’Connell, he took our offense to the next level. So, we’re looking for great things in 2023. Kirk’s going to be the leader on our offense.”
Cousins tied an NFL record for game-winning drives in a single season (8) in his first year with the aforementioned O’Connell. Minnesota finished 13-4 and won the NFC North for the first time in five years despite showcasing the league’s third-worst defense per points allowed.
Adofo-Mensah, who will ultimately be in charge of saying yes or no to a Cousins extension, answered in April whether his QB1 deserves an extension, “Kirk doesn’t need to do show anything to me. Kirk has played football at a high level before I got to the Minnesota Vikings. Last year, we won 13 games. I don’t know what he would need to prove to me or anybody else.”
“Sometimes you come to a place [in contract talks] where you decide, ‘Hey, let’s talk later. This is a solution for now.’ That’s all that’s happened,” Adofo-Mensah added.
Adofo-Mensah concluded, “We like where we are at the quarterback position, but every option is open to us going forward. We’re just really excited about Kirk this year. The weapons we’ve added in free agency, the weapons we added in the draft, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
At Vikings minicamp two months ago, Cousins was asked if extension talks were ongoing, and he replied, “I think we’ll probably talk about the contract next March. Until then, [we’ll] just focus on this season and the job to do right now.”
The team has the option to part ways with Cousins in 2024 if the 2023 campaign doesn’t go according to plan.
It’s that simple. The owner, general manager, head coach, and player have said the same thing all offseason.
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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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