Getty Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins appear now to have a better chance of reuniting in 2024 than previously thought.
In most instances an aging QB who suffers a catastrophic injury during a contract year loses leverage with both his current team as well as suitors in free agency. That Josh Dobbs has arrived in Minnesota to considerable success and subsequent fanfare would typically make Cousins’ circumstances with the Vikings more perilous than ever.
However, Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report cited team sources on Tuesday, November 14, who said the opposite is true.
It’s my understanding that given what’s transpired now with Cousins, both he and the Vikings are much more receptive to a return in 2024. That could potentially mean a one-year contract, I’m told. But the relationship that Cousins has built not only with Kevin O’Connell but with the Vikings staff, the players, the brass — he’s so well respected inside that locker room and really in that city.
For a guy that looked to be well on his way out to a long-term contract potentially somewhere else, it seems that Cousins and the Vikings could — I don’t even wanna say repair that marriage because there really wasn’t anything to repair, but I would say rekindle would be the right word. Sources have told me that given the relationship they have, the history they have, how comfortable Kirk is with that organization, within that city, that fan base, that SKOL nation, [the Vikings] could very well potentially have Kirk Cousins back, at least in 2024, as opposed to him moving on somewhere else.
Kirk Cousins’ Injury May Allow Vikings to Sign Him to Preferred Contract
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins’ Achilles tear and the impact that could have on the kind of deal he can make in free agency is one of the biggest factors at play in this discussion.
Cousins was playing his best football during the first half of the season, leading the league in passing touchdowns. He is 35 years old, but 35 is the new 30 for QBs in the post-Tom Brady era. Cousins was on his way to a third consecutive Pro Bowl and probably could have commanded a three-year deal in the nine-figure range given the shortage of quarterbacks in the NFL with whom a team can viably contend.
The math on all of that changes following such a serious injury. But the leverage it removes from Cousins’ side at the negotiating table may also remove the obstacles, at least temporarily, that stood in the way of getting a deal done.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah chose not to extend Cousins long-term in either of the previous two offseasons, adding a year to his contract ahead of the 2022 campaign and adding no new money or years last offseason. The QB offered Minnesota a discounted rate over the summer but wanted a multiyear deal, and the Vikings declined.
Adofo-Mensah said earlier this season that a reunion with Cousins was still on the table. That reunion is easier to orchestrate now given Cousins’ health issues and his affinity for the team and city, which Schultz mentioned in his report. The Vikings were probably always willing to bring Cousins back in 2024 on a one-year deal for $25-$30 million. Now that the team can get the QB to agree to that kind of contract, a seventh campaign for Cousins in Minnesota is a lot more likely.
Loss of Kirk Cousins Hit Vikings Locker Room Hard
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
Another important factor at play is how highly the rest of the Vikings locker room regards Cousins, which Schultz also discussed on Tuesday.
“We saw how much he means to that team when he goes out, and we saw the impact it had emotionally on a lot of the players inside that locker room — not only the receivers, not only the offense, but defensively as well,” Schultz said. “I know Josh Dobbs has done a terrific job … but Cousins remains at the heartbeat of that franchise. I think his toughness embodies a lot of what Kevin O’Connell and that organization want [in] their quarterback and really inside their locker room.”
Minnesota has invested heavily in tight end T.J. Hockenson and is expected to do the same with wide receiver Justin Jefferson sooner than later (probably no later than the 2024 offseason). With two positionally historic contract extensions likely on the books for pass-catchers and a first-round pick Jordan Addison who has had a breakout campaign in his rookie year, the Vikings have to take their decision at the quarterback position incredibly seriously.
Dobbs may be a bridge to a healthy Cousins, or he may be a legitimate answer unto himself. But Jefferson expressed his desire to win during the team’s early-season struggles and Cousins has been a winner in Minnesota (50-37-1 regular season record).
The Vikings have a better chance to solidify their future with Jefferson and their identity as a pass-heavy offensive attack that is a nightmare for defenses if they reunite with Cousins. And if they can do so on a one-year contract at value, there aren’t many good arguments to make for a different approach.