Getty Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings and Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is a fan of what San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is doing.
So much so that Cousins believes Purdy could take home the NFL’s top individual honor.
“Brock has a great chance of winning league MVP,” Cousins said on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” on December 19. “He’s running the system at a very high level. I told him after we played him … ‘Hey, I played in this system. … You’re only in your second year. And what you did in your first year and your second year is incredible. … It’s really impressive.”
Purdy has thrown for 3,795 yards this season, leading the NFL with 29 passing touchdowns. He is completing 69.8% of his passes and has thrown 7 interceptions in 384 attempts.
He is the current betting favorite for MVP, per Fanduel Sportsbook as of December 20.
He put on for his city.
Highlights from Brock Purdy’s big day in Arizona.
Next up, #BALvsSF on @ESPNNFL. #ProBowlVote
“I think he’s only going to get better,” Cousins said.
Cousins and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spent two seasons together in 2012 and 2013 in Washington, where the latter was the team’s offensive coordinator. The Vikings passer admitted that Shanahan’s offense has “evolved” since he last played in it.
Cousins threw for 1,320 yards on 56.2% completion with eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions in his two seasons under Shanahan, mostly as a backup to Robert Griffin III.
He was 1-3 in his four starts.
Kirk Cousins, 49ers Couldn’t Sync Up Timelines
GettyKyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite Cousins’ modest numbers under Shanahan, the 49ers were viewed as a potential landing spot for him in free agency in 2018 and again ahead of the 2023 season before Purdy’s re-emergence.
Schefter noted that San Francisco didn’t invest much time into scouting the quarterback class of 2017 in preparation for a possible Cousins-Shanahan reunion.
It never happened, though it was for all of the right reasons for both sides.
“I was on the franchise tag in Washington. And then, halfway through that season, [the 49ers] got Jimmy [Garoppolo]. And then I played out that season, obviously, and went to free agency,” Cousins said. “That was a team that may have been in the mix but instead was off the table. Because … he played lights out.”
For Cousins, it was a quick pivot.
“I basically looked at my options in free agency. And it was a pretty easy choice that Minnesota would be the best spot for me.”
Cousins still qualifies as the league leader in passing yards per game despite missing the last eight weeks with a torn Achilles. That could bode well for the Vikings when he returns next season.
49ers, Vikings Could Meet Again in Playoffs
GettyKirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings could factor among the league’s title contenders next season depending on how much turnover they have on defense. A free agent this coming offseason, Cousins said he hopes to return to Minnesota and is hoping to be ready for OTAs in the spring.
Shanahan and the 49ers reached a Super Bowl with Garoppolo at quarterback in 2019. And the head coach has his team poised to make another run this season with Purdy.
“Kyle, I know he’s been in my corner my whole career,” Cousins said. “But I also think he’s very much in Brock’s corner, and knows he’s got a great player in Brock. And I think that’s going to suit him pretty well.”
Cousins and his former offensive coordinator could meet again, and the next time could be this coming postseason.
Even if the quarterback is only in street clothes, rooting for his team as a spectator.