Getty Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to handoff the ball during a play in the second half of the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings don’t need a starting-caliber quarterback for the 2022 regular season with Kirk Cousins at the helm, but they could be in the market for one by as early as next year.
New general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah successfully kicked the can down the road a season on having to decide between parting ways with Cousins, who produced a monster year in 2021 based on both traditional statistics and advanced analytics, and committing to the 33-year-old QB long-term.
The play from Adofo-Mensah to extend Cousins for one season has several strokes of genius within it. The decision allows Minnesota to again compete for the playoffs and the division crown in a weak NFC North, maximizes prime years for Pro Bowlers Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook, provides new head coach Kevin O’Connell the opportunity to explore what a future with Cousins’ might look like, and also allows the Vikings the maneuverability to move on from the quarterback next year without letting a prime asset walk for nothing.
But Minnesota will face the same conundrum next offseason as it did this offseason unless the front office is proactive in finding a seasoned replacement for Cousins, should the franchise ultimately decide to move on.
Two long-time starters in the NFL and recent winners of playoff games appear on the way out of their current situations, and either could make sense for the Vikings as they set up their roster for the future. Those two players are Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns and Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers.
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NFL Insider Suggests Vikings Could Trade For Mayfield
GettyQuarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns looks on prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Dan Graziano of ESPN posited in a piece published Friday, June 10, that Mayfield or Garoppolo might make sense as a backup for Cousins this season, and as his successor moving forward. It is a move that another NFL franchise made as recently as a couple of years ago.
“[The Vikings are] set this season with Kirk Cousins but could move on from him after the year,” Graziano wrote. “This is an example of a place where Mayfield or Garoppolo wouldn’t start right away but could position himself as the team’s starter in 2023, the way [Jameis] Winston did with the [New Orleans] Saints in 2020.”
Mayfield, a former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, started four years in Cleveland and is just two postseasons removed from leading the Browns to their first playoff victory in more than a quarter century.
Garoppolo, on the other hand, was at the helm for the Niners’ trip to the NFC Championship Game last season, after San Francisco fell just shy of winning the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
Money is Primary Obstacle to Vikings Signing Either Mayfield, Garoppolo
Getty QB Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers reacts during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wildcard Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Cousins is currently backed up by Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond. Either Mayfield or Garoppolo would be a significant upgrade in that department and would provide the Vikings a security blanket at quarterback should Cousins suffer any type of injury.
The issue with both quarterbacks is the money it would cost Minnesota to bring them in. The franchise’s current level of cap space is just short of $11 million, per Over The Cap. Mayfield is scheduled to make nearly $19 million this season, while Garoppolo carries a cap charge of nearly $27 million. In either case, that’s a hefty investment on the part of the Vikings for a player unlikely to see the field much in 2022.
While the Niners have given no indication that they would be willing to pay any of Garoppolo’s salary as part of a trade, the Browns are leveraged to a point that they may not have a choice where Mayfield is concerned — making him the more likely play for Minnesota.
The Carolina Panthers were engaged in trade talks for the quarterback during the NFL Draft and were asking the Browns to assume as much as $13-$14 million of Mayfield’s contract as part of the deal, per Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer.
Those negotiations eventually fell through but as the season nears, Cleveland may prove more willing to pick up a significant chunk of Mayfield’s salary — enough, perhaps, for the Vikings to consider taking a flyer on a starting-caliber QB who will surely be cheaper on his next deal.