It Sure Sounds Like Kirk Cousins Will Be Back with Vikings in 2024
Dustin Baker
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon on Sunday afternoon, but that doesn’t mean his career in the North Star State is over.
It Sure Sounds Like Kirk Cousins Will Be Back with Vikings in 2024
The team’s head coach struck an incredibly positive tone about the possibility of Cousins returning in 2024, as the Cousins and Vikings management will deliberate his 2024-and-beyond future in a few short months.
Minnesota will turn to rookie quarterback Jaren Hall this weekend, the man’s first career start. The Atlanta Falcons, owners of a 4-4 record, the same as the Vikings, await Hall’s Vikings in Week 9. And if Hall doesn’t produce, Minnesota has two other options at quarterback — Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens. We shall see.
But beyond this season, the quarterback future in Minnesota is murkier — a lot murkier, in fact. Even before Cousins’ unfortunate injury, nobody knew if Minnesota’s front office would welcome him back or what needed to occur this season to warrant Cousins’ seventh season in purple.
On Wednesday, however, Cousins returning for another hurrah didn’t sound too weird at all.
“Kirk Cousins is going to be healthy again. I know he’s going to be a free agent after this season, but Kirk knows how I feel about him, and that will be something, you know, that hopefully will work itself out,” head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters.
Of course, Cousins’ return or free-agent adventure isn’t solely up to O’Connell, but since arriving in Minneapolis 21 months ago, O’Connell and his boss, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, have preached a collaborative leadership mantra. If O’Connell wants Cousins back, there’s a decent chance it will happen.
O’Connell added, “You guys know how I feel about Kirk. Kirk knows how I feel about Kirk. I think he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League.”
The other element of Cousins’ potential next chapter with the Vikings is money. Before the injury, he likely could’ve commanded between $40-50 million per season on the open market. Recovering from the Achilles tear and entering his age-36 season in 2023 might dial that sum back a tad or force Cousins to play on a “prove it” deal. The going rate in 2023 for an entry-level second-contract starter is $40 million annually, thanks to New York Giants and Daniel Jones. Cousins is nearly guaranteed to fetch that figure, or at least he was before the injury.
The moment the Vikings season ends, no matter the outcome, all things regarding the team will turn to the quarterback plans, including Cousins. You can write that in ink on a calendar.
O’Connell also said about the challenge in front of his team in the next two months, “Without Kirk Cousins and that high level of quarterback play we were getting from him week-in and week-out, it’s going to be a challenge. But like I said, one that we’ve got to accept and try to thrive.”
Jaren Hall Has One Big Shot
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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