Getty Vikings quarterbacks Kirk Cousins (left) and Jaren Hall (right)
Without Kirk Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback carousel took another spin in Week 17 after the team named rookie Jaren Hall their starter with two games left in the season.
The Vikings have gotten a good look at life without the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
In a December 28 mailbag segment, Star Tribune reporters Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer took the temperature of the Vikings’ interest in re-signing Cousins.
Heading into the 2023 season, it seemed the Vikings would move on from Cousins and draft a first-round quarterback, they said, but the team has since warmed up to re-signing him and will engage in contract talks this offseason.
“There is certainly going to be a discussion between Cousins and the Vikings,” Goessling said on the “Access Vikings” podcast. “There’s enough interest. There’s enough goodwill on both sides.”
Vikings GM Says Options Are on the Table for Kirk Cousins
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
After the Vikings and Cousins broke off extension talks this summer, sending Cousins into a contract year, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said “all options” are on the table despite Cousins’ season-ending Achilles tear on October 29.
“When we broke off talk the first time, every option was still available to Kirk. Coming back was one of the really good options we had, so him playing this well the last four games … we expected in Year 2 [with head coach Kevin O’Connell] for him to take that step,” Adofo-Mensah said in a November 1 news conference. “Really unfortunate that [Cousins’ injury] happened, but again our all options are open as they were before the injury.”
Two factors will sway the ultimate decision before free agency opens on March 13: the price of said offer and Cousins’ willingness to accept that the Vikings will draft a quarterback of the future in April.
If Cousins can land a lucrative multi-year contract that is fully guaranteed elsewhere, he might not be willing to lower his price for the Vikings, who have shown a desire to draft a blue-chip quarterback prospect.
“That discussion will have to be had,” Goessling said. “Maybe he’ll say a couple of more years and I can write my legacy here. Maybe make a playoff run. Win a Super Bowl. All the things he likes are here. He has a lot going for him here.”
The new Vikings regime has shown to be stout in its negotiations and unwilling to bend, no matter the player. Despite a desire to keep two of the franchise’s most cherished players, they released Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook because they wouldn’t come down from their current contracts.
During the offseason, Krammer reported, Cousins offered a slight discount below the market rate, but the Vikings did not take it. Whether he’s willing to offer another discount, especially coming off injury, remains to be seen.
“The big question, [to] me, is going to be how much is either side of this willing to come off its post,” Goessling said. “I will be curious which one of these things wins out, and [how] the price point affects it.”
Jaren Hall Will Impact Vikings QB Decisions
GettyVikings rookie quarterback Jaren Hall during his first NFL regular-season appearance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
The two final games with Hall under center could have heavy implications on what the Vikings decide to do.
An option available for them is to draft a quarterback high and sign an affordable bridge veteran quarterback that can truly help a developing team compete in 2023. The Vikings want to remain competitive while also pivoting to a new future at quarterback.
If Hall plays well enough to prove he’s worthy of competing for the starting job next offseason, the Vikings may not need to go chasing a pricier veteran.