Justin Jefferson Comments about Preferred 2024 Quarterback
The Minnesota Vikings have an uncertain future at the most important position in the sport. Kirk Cousins, quarterback of the franchise since signing a contract in 2018, entered the 2023 season with the knowledge that it could be his final campaign in purple. For the first time since his arrival six years ago, he is a free agent and can choose his next destination in March.
Justin Jefferson Comments about Preferred 2024 Quarterback
That uncertainty is new for Vikings fans who haven’t had to think about a new passer in years. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must re-sign him or find a successor in the draft. He currently holds the 11th overall pick. Another option could be free agency, although the options aren’t that intriguing as Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew, and Ryan Tannehill are the top guys on the market, with Mayfield expected to re-sign in Tampa Bay.
Justin Jefferson, the star of the franchise, is the top pass-catcher in the league, and those players need someone to throw them the ball. He has always been a fan of Cousins and has regularly stated his interest in continuing to catch passes from him. During Super Bowl week on the Rich Eisen Show, he underlined the uncertainty. Asked about who will be his quarterback in the upcoming season, the record-breaking star responded: “I don’t know that. I have no idea. It could be Kirk. It could be someone else. I have no idea.”
“Kirk is great as a teammate, as a person,” the former LSU standout stated when asked about Cousins. “Just seeing the difference from having multiple quarterbacks throw to you versus having that one main quarterback. It’s definitely a difference. You appreciate it a little bit more. I feel like everyone, especially Vikings fans, appreciate Kirk a little bit more now that we’ve seen him off the field. It’s been great to see him in the training room interacting with us as a team, still having that high spirit. I guess we will see.”
The passer and his receiver have formed a wonderful connection over the years, resulting in Jefferson breaking the franchise records in receptions and yards in a single season while also earning the nod for NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year after his 2022 campaign.
Eisen asked him about how the situation would play out:
I would like him [Kirk Cousins] to stay. I would love to have him stay and have that connection with him. It’s going to be difficult to create that new connection with a whole new quarterback, especially if we don’t know if we’re going to draft one, if we’re going to pick one up. It’s a difficult situation but I would like to have him back. I would like to have him in that locker room, especially with that leadership he has and that C on his chest.
Justin Jefferson
Jefferson has been Cousins’ biggest fan for years. The duo has broken multiple records, and the wideout is still the top player in NFL history in receiving yards per game, and he is leading all players in receiving yards in the first four seasons of a career.
General manager Adofo-Mensah must make a paramount decision in the next few weeks. Does he want to pay Cousins another big contract that ensures decent play or turn to his successor immediately? One interesting note is that both Jefferson’s awaited contract extension as well as a new deal for Cousins could open up cap space to help form a competitive team in 2024.
Of course, re-signing Cousins while still selecting someone in April’s draft is an option. The Chiefs did it, the Packers did it, and it seems to be a decent way to develop a signal-caller while other teams start their rookies immediately before they are ready, which is always a disaster for their career trajectory.
All alternatives are on the table at this point, and a resolution about the veteran’s future should be expected before free agency begins in March.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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