Getty Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates a touchdown during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 30, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Kirk Cousins will be the Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback for the rest of this season and through 2023, but after that the team’s future under center is less certain.
Cousins has been an undeniably quality player during his five years in Minnesota, earning two trips to the Pro Bowl and amassing a win/loss record of 33-29-1 through his first four campaigns. He’s having another quality season in 2022, throwing for 1,734 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions on the Vikings’ way to a 6-1 start and a 3.5-game lead in the NFC North Division. As the mid-point of the year approaches, Pro Football Focus ranks Cousins 13th overall out of 33 quarterbacks qualifying at the position.
Though, for devout fans of the franchise, it sometimes feels as though there is something missing from the quarterback’s skillset. He’s had arguably the league’s best wide receiver in Justin Jefferson at his disposal the last two seasons, along with a Pro-Bowl running back in Dalvin Cook. The team just traded for tight end T.J. Hockenson, adding yet another weapon to the offense. Still, the Vikings have made the playoffs just once during Cousins’ tenure.
Despite his statistical production, it is hard to argue that the winning done in Minnesota with Cousins at the helm is worth the money he has made there. The Vikings will pay their 34-year-old quarterback $40 million this year and a guaranteed $30 million next season. The modern NFL has shown that often a Super Bowl-winning formula is a quality signal caller on an affordable rookie contract, which allows the team to spend its money elsewhere on the roster. That is hardly the paradigm that exists in the Vikings’ huddle now.
As such, the best solution is to find a replacement for Cousins via the draft, and Anthony Richardson of the University of Florida is expected to fall somewhere in the Vikings’ estimated pick range next April.
Richardson Represents Dual-Threat QB Archetype Taking Over NFL
GettyQB Anthony Richardson of the Florida Gators rushes for a fourth quarter touchdown during a game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium on September 11, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report released its first mock draft of the year on Wednesday, November 2, linking Richardson to the Vikings with the projected 29th pick.
Every team wants the next Josh Allen, even though Allen is the outlier.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback was a major project with sterling traits that just needed to be polished. … It’s not an easy process to maximize the skill sets of naturally gifted quarterback prospects who are much further behind on the developmental curve. Florida’s Anthony Richardson will be the next test of whether it can be done.
The Minnesota Vikings are the perfect destination for Richardson.
Kirk Cousins can start during the final year of his contract in 2023, allow Richardson to learn behind him and then give way to the Vikings’ next starting quarterback.
Drafting QB Makes More Sense For Vikings Than Re-Up With Cousins
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins shared a heated exchange on the Minnesota Vikings’ sideline during the team’s 24-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins on October 16, 2022.
Richardson has all the physical tools, even if his passing is rough around the edges. The QB has thrown for 1,638 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions through eight games this season. He has rushed the ball for 410 yards and six scores.
“A year ago, the San Francisco 49ers bet the house on a young, uber-talented quarterback to sit behind their system quarterback for a season,” Bleacher Report’s Derrik Klassen wrote of Trey Lance. “The Vikings have a chance to do the same thing at a much cheaper price.”
“Richardson is 6’4″ and 232 pounds with explosive mobility and an arm that could throw through the earth’s core. Richardson just needs time, reps and a stable environment,” Klassen continued. “Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings just might be able to give him that opportunity.”
Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press argued in his October 15 column that drafting a signal caller in next year’s QB-heavy draft doesn’t necessarily compute for the Vikings because their first-round selection is likely to be so low. For that reason, he believes Cousins is poised to cash in again with the organization.
On the other side of that coin, Minnesota could extend Cousins for one more year through 2024 on a lucrative deal and allow a player like Richardson the rarity of two years within a system to prepare before taking the field as a starter.
It would be costly for the Vikings to move up significantly in the draft to grab a more polished QB prospect, especially after dealing next year’s second-round choice as part of the trade for Hockenson. Drafting Richardson and securing Cousins through the age of 36 straddles the goals of winning now and winning later in an acceptable fashion.