The Minnesota Vikings have avoided quarterback tumult since signing Kirk Cousins as a free agent in March 2018. This isn’t to say Cousins hasn’t been a polarizing figure among fans, but there was no uncertainty about who would be starting at quarterback for the Vikings until Cousins suffered an Achilles injury in late October.
It appears that stability is about to come to an end.
The NFL season concluded on Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs’ overtime win against San Francisco in the Super Bowl, and that means the offseason frenzy is about to begin. The new league year will begin a month from Tuesday, and Cousins is expected to be one of the most pursued free agents on the market.
The Vikings reportedly are interested in bringing back Cousins, but it seems they want it to be on their terms. Last March, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement on an extension, in part because the Vikings reportedly wanted a shorter-term deal than what the Cousins camp was pursuing. It was agreed talks would be shelved until the offseason. But the closer Cousins gets to free agency, the more likely it becomes that a guy who turns 36 in August is going to see what the market has to offer.
The hope has to be that the Vikings have spent the past 11 months preparing for life after Cousins. The 2023 season helped his cause in part because his absence resulted in the Vikings playing three backups (Josh Dobbs, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens) who couldn’t take hold of the job. But the Vikings’ 3-6 record also put on display many other shortcomings that need fixing.
Super Bowl week is the perfect place for rumors and rumblings to be bandied about, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network linked the Vikings to San Francisco backup Sam Darnold.
This resulted in some not-so-favorable reactions. Darnold spent three seasons with the New York Jets after being the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He had a two-year stop in Carolina and was Brock Purdy’s backup with the 49ers this season.
Is Darnold a name that should excite fans? No. What needs to be remembered is that Darnold would be a bridge to a QB the Vikings are likely to draft this April. That could be Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. The Vikings also could trade into the top of the draft and grab North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
Watching the Chiefs and 49ers on Sunday, it became clear just how far the Vikings are from competing at that level in the playoffs. Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needs to improve several areas of his team, especially on defense, and overall the Vikings need far more quality depth than they currently have.
This isn’t the time to run things back, but rather to move on from veterans and hit a reset that will set up the Vikings for the future. Cousins was brought to Minnesota in 2018 because he was considered the final piece of what the Vikings thought was a Super Bowl puzzle. That team was coming off a loss at Philadelphia in the NFC title game and wanted to upgrade from a backup who had a career year, Case Keenum, to a long-term replacement.
Cousins proved to be exactly that — the season-ending Achilles injury marked the first time in his nine years as a starter he missed time because of injury — but he fell well short when it came to being the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle. The Vikings missed the postseason in 2018 and made only two playoff appearances in Cousins’ six seasons. They won one game.
Cousins deserves the opportunity to get one more big contract in free agency and go to a team that believes the same thing the Vikings did in 2018 — that it is on the verge of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.
Maybe Cousins will surprise us and decide he likes Minnesota so much that he will stay on a short-term, discount deal that will put him in a position to start for one more season and, just as importantly, serve as a mentor to a guy like McCarthy.
That, however, seems like a long shot, and the Vikings have to know it.
That puts the Vikings in a position to pursue Darnold or Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew and draft the future starter. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported over the weekend that the New England Patriots may be open to trading the third overall pick and that the Vikings and Falcons were teams to “keep an eye on” as far as potential trade partners.
Graziano also reported that some in the Vikings organization liked the idea of moving up and trying to get Daniels to pair with another LSU alum, wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Of course, if the Vikings get Maye or Daniels, odds are good he will be the Week 1 starter and the bridge quarterback will be there only in case of emergency.
While there is risk in taking this route, the Vikings are in the ideal position to do it. If it backfires, that could cost Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell their jobs. If the Vikings bring back Cousins at a significant price tag and keep running it back, both the GM and coach are likely to be shown the door sooner rather than later.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com.
