Getty Quarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings walks the sidelines during a game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 9, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The No. 1 question that needed to be addressed by every candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coach position should be what to do at quarterback.
Whoever becomes head coach will have heavy sway in whether Kirk Cousins stays or goes.
And with Jim Harbaugh is seemingly hours away from being hired as the Vikings’ next head coach, Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse weighed in on where Cousins could land in 2022.
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Win-Now Harbaugh Could Keep Cousins
Appearing on the SKOR North podcast, Reusse speculated that Harbaugh could work with Cousins as his quarterback, saying Harbaugh has experience building an offense around mobile quarterbacks and pocket passers Cousins.
“I think he can develop an offense whether it’s with an athletic QB or nonathletic QB. I think Cousins stays if (Harbaugh) stays. He’s not coming here to rebuild; he’s coming here to win,” Reusse said, adding that a window to the playoffs may be opening with Aaron Rodgers’ questionable future in Green Bay. “I think he looks around, knows that Rodgers is leaving in all likelihood, sees the talent on this roster — they have cap problems obviously — but he knows he can come in here and run the show.”
The Vikings hiring Harbaugh would also back ownerships statement during their head coach search that this change in leadership is not a rebuild, and they expect to win now.
Minnesota signed Adofo-Mensah to a four-year contract, shorter than most general manager deals. The potential pairing of Adofo-Mensah and Harbaugh is a high-risk, high-reward move in the short term that the Vikings could follow through on, putting words to action.
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Cousins’ Contract Must Go
Minnesota has seen its ceiling with Cousins, winning one playoff game in four seasons after signing the prized free-agent quarterback after an appearance in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.
While Cousins’ has played above-average throughout his tenure with the Vikings, his contract has capsized the franchise. And it only gets worse.
Cousins carries the largest cap hit of his career of $45 million into the 2022 season. Minnesota needs to revitalize a depleted defense that could see seven starters leave as pending unrestricted free agents. The Vikings are $14 million over the cap and will not be buyers in free agency if they cannot get their finances in order.
Getting the Vikings out of the red will be new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s M.O. this offseason. The time could be now to sell high on Cousins, coming off his best season with the Vikings, and gain some draft capital — on top of getting out from under his cap hit.
Harbaugh’s experience and ability to work with different styles of quarterbacks by no means saves Cousins from a possible trade. Harbaugh has worked wonders with Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith with San Francisco with little drop-off in team success and would likely be willing to downgrade at the quarterback if it means upgrading the team as a whole.
The Vikings have fielded calls over the year for Cousins, but with Zimmer and Spielman vying for their jobs in 2021, the team was unwilling to part with him.
Minnesota has time to wait and see what offers come in a trade for Cousins, but they’ll have to either deal him or reach a contract extension to lessen his cap hit before March 16, the first day of free agency.