Getty General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s phone number may have been the most popular in Minnesota the following two days after Kirk Cousins‘ season-ending injury.
“When you have a quarterback injury in the NFL, your phone becomes the most popular phone, I think, in the Minnesota area,” Adofo-Mensah said in response to the amount of interest the Vikings’ quarterback situation had garnered. “A lot of people want to come here because they love Minnesota. A lot of people want to play for Kevin. A lot of people want to come be on this team and this offense. So, there were a lot of options. But again, this whole time we stuck to our guns — ‘This is what we’re trying to do. This is what we’re trying to get to.’ It kind of whittles it down to the number of options we actually, truthfully considered.”
One of those options the Vikings truly considered was rekindling trade talks for Trey Lance, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
“On Monday, they poked around at everything. They discussed internally what move would make the most sense, from a brief discussion about perhaps calling the Dallas Cowboys to trade for Trey Lance,” Russini wrote on November 4.
Russini’s report confirms the Vikings’ interest in Lance since last March when several national reports leaked potential trade talks involving the San Francisco 49ers at the NFL combine.
Traded to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in August, Lance is in the second-to-last year of his four-year, $34 million rookie contract. He can have his fifth-year option extended by May 1 — which could put him back on the trade radar in March for a team looking to kick the tires on a two-year trial run.
Vikings Interested in Bringing Back Kirk Cousins
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
Up against the league trade deadline on Tuesday, October 31, Adofo-Mensah needed to make a decision that would give a team that’s been inspired the past month, crawling back to .500 after an 0-3 start, something to play for while also not sacrificing the future.
The Vikings ultimately landed veteran Josh Dobbs in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, which captured their intention behind replacing Cousins.
“The Vikings had one rule in adding a quarterback: Minimize the impact on their team-building beyond 2023. Enter Dobbs for only a sixth-round pick,” Russini added.
The reason for minimizing the impact beyond the 2023 season is to keep flexibility at quarterback in 2024.
Russini revealed that bringing Cousins back is still on the table in Minnesota.
“Cousins is out for the season and will be a free agent in 2024. Though his future is unclear, conversations I’ve had with sources over the last few months suggest Minnesota will try to bring him back and that there are many in the building and locker room who want that,” Russini wrote.
On Wednesday, Adofo-Mensah expressed his desire to have Cousins back, but it will come down to the negotiations and whether Cousins’ next contract could be a good fit for the team.
“Kirk played great, my want for Kirk to come back, it’s not just a me thing. It’s a negotiation, you come together at a table and see if everything works together and we’ll have that dialogue when the time comes,” Adofo-Mensah said.
Vikings Draft Preview Through 9 Weeks
After a 4-1 run in October, the Vikings (4-4) hold the 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft if the season ends today.
Cousins was central to Minnesota’s success in October, and their chances at the playoffs surely take a hit without him. It remains to be seen how successful the Vikings can be with its current stables of quarterbacks, but their schedule is soft other than two matchups with the Detroit Lions.
However, there are at least 10 quarterback-needy teams ahead of the Vikings in the draft currently, which makes it difficult to see Minnesota landing a blue-chip quarterback prospect without trading up.