Nov 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota lost to Dallas by a score of 40-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Most Minnesota Vikings fans feel the team’s quarterback decision this offseason involves a binary choice: Kirk Cousins for a seventh season or starting the clock on a fancy new rookie passer.
But ESPN’s vision for the 2024 Vikings is different, envisioning a relationship with soon-to-be free agent Russell Wilson.
Yes, him.
Wilson and the Denver Broncos appear on the brink of full divorce after the veteran passer was benched down the stretch of the regular season in favor of Jarrett Stidham. Equipped with ample cashflow earned in Denver, Wilson could sign for cheap at his next destination — and ESPN believes that new NFL home will be the Vikings.
ESPN’s Seth Walder explained the theory on Tuesday, the start day of the 2024 NFL Combine, “Let’s call this Wilson plus Oregon’s Bo Nix. Cousins might end up back in Minnesota, but I could see the Vikings balking at giving him a multiyear guaranteed contract. If he’s out of the picture, Wilson is probably the next-best short-term solution. (I’m assuming the Bears wouldn’t deal Justin Fields inside their division.)”
On pairing Wilson with would-be rookie selection Bo Nix, well, Vikings fans are not incredibly high on Nix either. So, this can reasonably be called a double whammy.
“But don’t be surprised if the Vikings go after multiple players to fill Cousins’ void. If they do, acquiring Wilson and drafting a QB at No. 11 makes the most sense,” Walder concluded.
Wilson recorded 26 touchdown passes to 8 interceptions in 15 starts last season, while Denver banked a 7-8 record on his watch. In December, according to BetOnline.ag, the Vikings were the odds-on favorite to land Wilson when free agency kicks off in March. It is unclear where Wilson would fit among existing Vikings quarterbacks under contract, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens.
Too, because the Vikings employ a somewhat new leadership regime in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell, the duo is expected to draft a quarterback with high-round capital before too long. All those factors complicate Wilson-to-Minnesota but didn’t exclude ESPN from connecting him and the Vikings. One item is certain: Wilson’s next team can sign him for cheap in a couple of weeks because his Denver payday is ongoing. In fact, for some team, he could be a decent patchover quarterback to a rookie.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also predicted the Vikings as a Wilson landing spot in mid-January.
Wilson is about three months younger than Kirk Cousins.
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.