Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi-Adofo Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell both have expressed a desire to bring back Kirk Cousins as their quarterback next season, and Cousins has made it clear he also would like to stick around.
But that doesn’t make it a slam dunk that will happen for a QB who will turn 36 on Aug. 19.
Cousins is set to hit free agency in March and is coming off a season-ending Achilles’ injury suffered in late October in Green Bay. His age and the injury create issues.
Cousins told reporters in his end-of-the-season press conference that during his time in Washington a coach once told him, “Kirk, it’s not about the dollars (in a contract), but it is about what the dollars represent.”
While Cousins was talking about the respect shown in a contract, Adofo-Mensah said, “Ultimately it always comes down to, ‘Can you find an agreement that works for all sides,’ and all those things.”
The Vikings had an opportunity to extend Cousins’ contract last March but the sides could not reach an agreement, so now he’s in a position to hit the open market on March 13. If that happens, here are some potential landing spots for Cousins.
Atlanta Falcons
This makes a lot of sense, especially if Bill Belichick is hired as Atlanta’s next coach. It appears to be trending in that direction given that less than a week after parting ways with the New England Patriots, Belichick is reportedly set for a second interview with Falcons officials.
Belichick won six Super Bowls in 24 seasons with the Patriots, is 26 regular-season victories from surpassing Don Shula as the winningest regular-season coach of all time and will turn 72 in April. The Falcons also have some nice pieces on their roster and owner Arthur Blank, whose team blew a 25-point lead to Belichick’s Patriots with 18 minutes left in Super Bowl LI, will turn 82 in September.
That makes it unlikely that Belichick or Blank are going to want to take a long-term approach and see if the Falcons can develop a quarterback. Signing Cousins to a multi-year, fully guaranteed contract would come with risk — Atlanta has $26.3 million in salary-cap space, according to the Over the Cap website — but it’s one the Falcons might be willing to take.
A move to Cousins also would enable the team to focus on a position other than quarterback with the eighth pick in the first round of the draft.
There are family reasons why Cousins and his wife, Julie, might like this idea. Julie is from the Atlanta area and the couple was married in Georgia in 2014. Kirk’s father, Don, runs a church in Orlando, Fla., which is only about a one-hour flight from Atlanta.
The Falcons are coming off a 7-10 finish, but in each of the past three years the franchise has used a first-round pick on an offensive weapon (tight end Kyle Pitts at No. 4 in 2021, wide receiver Drake London at No. 8 in 2022, and running back Bijan Robinson at No. 8 in 2023.) What they don’t have is a quarterback.
Cousins doesn’t have much of a playoff track record so that might be an issue for Belichick, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Cousins ends up in Atlanta.
Miami Dolphins
Mike Sando, an outstanding NFL writer for The Athletic, gets credit for this one. Sando went through some of the options for the Miami Dolphins as they make a decision on the future of Tua Tagovailoa as he gets set to enter the last year of his contract.
Coming off a first-round playoff loss last weekend in frigid Kansas City, the Dolphins are likely to consider all options. Sando, in his Pick Six column, wrote the most palatable one might be trading Tagovailoa and signing Cousins.
Sando points out the Dolphins don’t have third- or fourth-round selections in the upcoming draft, so dealing Tagovailoa could help them add picks. Cousins would almost certainly intrigue Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who was the offensive coordinator for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan before taking the Dolphins job. Shanahan has long-praised Cousins and there’s no reason to think McDaniel doesn’t share the same admiration for the QB.
Shanahan, McDaniel and Cousins were together in Washington for the quarterback’s first two NFL seasons. Of course, there are no guarantees the Dolphins will move on from Tagovailoa, and the team also has one of the worst salary-cap situations in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are coming off a 10-7 regular-season finish and a first-round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday. Mike Tomlin’s future appeared uncertain after that defeat, but he said Thursday that his fire for the job has “intensified” and he is expecting to get a contract extension.
But will the veteran coach and former Vikings defensive coordinator be getting a new quarterback?
Kenny Pickett, the 20th selection in the first round of the 2022 draft by the Steelers, suffered an ankle injury late in the season and remained on the bench, in favor of Mason Rudolph, even though he said he was good to resume his starting role in Week 17.
Tomlin said Thursday that Pickett would be the starter entering training camp but would have competition. The Steelers also will have a new offensive coordinator, so Pickett’s future appears to be anything but secure. Pickett has missed nine games over his first two seasons and thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns (13) in 25 career starts.
The Steelers are over the salary cap, so there would be work to be done to make a run at Cousins, but Tomlin might be intrigued by the presence of a veteran quarterback after Pickett’s attempt to replace Ben Roethlisberger was underwhelming.
Washington Commanders
Could Cousins return to Washington?
This isn’t the same franchise that took him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, eventually placed the franchise tag on him in back-to-back seasons and then let him walk. Washington has changed its nickname and, more importantly, reviled owner Daniel Snyder sold the team to investor Josh Harris in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
Cousins spent the first six seasons of his career in Washington — the last six have been spent in Minnesota — and could return to replace 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell. Howell threw 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions this season as the Commanders went 4-13. The franchise also is conducting a search for a coach after firing Ron Rivera, but there is no question Harris would like to see the team make a splash.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com.
Washington will be dealing from a position of strength in free agency, given the Commanders have an NFL-high $75.7 million in salary-cap space, according to Over The Cap.
Cousins might not have an interest in returning to where he started, but the fact that things have changed for the better could at least help to result in a conversation.
