Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel (10) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
A verdict on Kirk Cousins’ free-agent future should be announced in the next two weeks, either with the 35-year-old returning to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh season or beginning his career’s third chapter.
Everyone has a Cousins prediction, probably because the decision is one of the Vikings’ most important and pivotal in the last decade. He can probably grab $40 million per season on the open market, though it is unclear if Minnesota’s budget can support the request.
One former quarterback, however, believes Cousins will return to the Vikings. He’s Chase Daniel, and the retired NFLer claimed he spoke to Cousins recently at the Super Bowl. “I actually talked to Kirk during Super Bowl week. We saw each other at media row and just chatted. He’s like, ‘Honestly, I feel great. I’m like a couple months out.’ And a couple months out, that’s good, that’s fast. I don’t think the injury is going to maybe hurt teams from looking at him. In my opinion, he’s the best QB free agent and it’s not even close. Like, not even close. I don’t think the injury will hurt him. He felt very good about that,” Daniel told Trey Wingo late last week.
As a preference, Vikings fans are close to evenly split about their desire for Cousins back in purple.
Cousins was on pace to rack up 5,000 passing yards, 38 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 2023 before an Achilles rupture ended his season in late October.
Daniel also predicted Cousins would remain a Viking, “Look, Kirk Cousins, his ties to Atlanta, his wife’s ties to Atlanta, I get all of that, but he’s gotta stay in Minnesota. Like, how are you going to be the Minnesota Vikings and let your guy walk away? Just do another two- or three-year deal. Kirk’s getting up there in age, but he’s playing at an extremely high level.”
The Falcons (mentioned by Daniel), Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots are expected to explore Cousins’ free agency if he sees the light of the open market.
Daniel concluded. “I do think they’re going to find a way to work it out. I don’t know if it’s going to be all guaranteed because the two former regimes that gave him those are no longer there. This is a new regime, and I don’t think they want to set that precedent there. It’d be crazy if it’s not Minnesota..”
If Daniel is wrong, and Cousins vamooses, Minnesota will be all but required to select a quarterback during April’s draft. Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Jayden Daniels (LSU), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), and Bo Nix (Oregon) are expected to go off the board in Rounds 1 and 2.
But that may not be terribly urgent if Daniel is correct. Cousins will turn 36 in August.
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.