QB Is Now the Vikings Top Offseason Need
The Minnesota Vikings generally contemplate and ultimately extend quarterback Kirk Cousins around this time of the offseason calendar, but 2023 may have a plot twist.
Cousins is under contract through the end of 2023, and franchise quarterbacks rarely enter the final year of their deals. The 34-year-old did just that in 2016 and 2017 with the Washington Commanders, and it appears the Vikings will follow suit six years later.
QB Is Now the Vikings Top Offseason Need
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Sunday, one day before NFL free agency kicks off, “It would not be surprising if the Vikings and Kirk Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney can not find the right deal but also for the Vikings — this does make it difficult financially, of course, they are in cap crunch now.”
“They have been shedding salary, they have been shedding veterans. Getting a Kirk Cousins deal would certainly be something that would help them cap-wise, but as you mentioned, that may not be something that is in the cards right now,” Rapoport added.
NFL insider Mike Garafolo, also from NFL Network, tweeted on the same day, “The Vikings and Kirk Cousins have had talks about a contract extension but nothing is imminent and Cousins playing out the last year of his contract and heading toward free agency once again feels quite possible right now.”
A Cousins’ extension was tentatively expected sometime this week or next, as such a deal would free up between $15-$23 million in 2023 cap space, cash that could be used to sign a handful of free agents, especially on defense. Too, through two months of the offseason, Vikings leaders Kweis Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have touted Cousins’ prowess for leading the team at quarterback.
But no Cousins extension would change everything.
The club would embark on the 2023 campaign with the QB1 as a lame duck while still aspiring Super Bowl contendership stakes, a mindset repeated by Vikings brass since Minnesota lost to the New York Giants in the postseason 56 days ago. Of course, Cousins could still re-sign at this time next year, but not committing now would feel like a hint at his final year in purple and gold.
And then what? Adofo-Mensah is expected to extend the contracts of Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson in the next month or so, and those transactions are not methods used by a team teetering on quarterback uncertainty.
If Cousins indeed plays on the final year of his contract in 2023, the need for his replacement rockets up the Vikings list of offseason needs. In fact, it would be the primary need. Employing Jefferson, Hockenson, and Christian Darrisaw, for example, in 2024 with a “we’ll figure it out later” strategy at quarterback would be malpractice.
Therefore, all eyes — for the Vikings ownership, front office, Cousins personally, and fans — would turn to the 2023 NFL Draft. There must be a plan for the Cousins afterlife, and 2022 QB2 Nick Mullens likely isn’t it. He, too, is a free agent. Adofo-Mensah waived 2021 rookie Kellen Mond last summer, meaning there is no heir apparent to Cousins anywhere in the orbit of the Vikings roster.
Unless Adofo-Mensah has improperly labeled his “competitive rebuild” philosophy for 14 months, the Vikings must groom a Cousins replacement now, not later, if Cousins is heading out the door after 2023. Otherwise, he can subtract the competitive part of “competitive rebuild” from his slogan. 2024 would mark a full rebuild with no trustworthy QB1.
Regrettably, at least for now, the Vikings 23rd overall pick in April’s draft is terribly suboptimal for drafting “the next guy” at quarterback. Adofo-Mensah must trade up the draft board — probably in the Top 5 — or take a flyer on a man like Hendon Hooker, Clayton Tune, Jaren Hall, or Tanner McKee after Round 1.
The other option is to trade Cousins this month to a team of his choosing — he has a no-trade clause — eat a bunch of dead cap money, and acquire a player like Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers or make a colossally expensive play for Lamar Jackson.
Those are the stakes. If Rapoport and Garafolo are correct that no Cousins extension is on the way, the team must plot for his successor — like now.
Vikings May Trade-1, Keep-1 at RB
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,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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