For multiple weeks heading into free agency, a reunion between the Minnesota Vikings and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins was a realistic possibility, but Kyler Murray’s release from the Arizona Cardinals slammed a tight lid on all that.
With Murray in-house, there is a next-to-zero chance that Cousins returns to Minneapolis.
“Good stuff! Like [ESPN’s Adam] Schefter said, it’s moved to shock status if [Murray to Minnesota] doesn’t happen,” Darren Wolfson of KSTP wrote on X last week. “Cousins, as of this afternoon = zero sense that he’ll land back here.”
The Vikings remain in the hunt for a veteran QB to act as an insurance policy behind Murray and JJ McCarthy, both of whom have proven injury-prone, but Cousins doesn’t fit the profile as a player looking for one last starting opportunity heading into his age-38 campaign.
One former NFL general manager believes Cousins can, and should, find what he seeks in the Nevada desert as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I would sign Kirk Cousins. I think he is the ideal bridge quarterback for Fernando Mendoza,” ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum said on a Friday, March 13 edition of SportsCenter. “Why not go out and get a veteran like Kirk Cousins to stabilize the position? Bring Mendoza along slowly. Don’t play him from Day 1 because, remember, often quarterbacks are ruined before they ever get going.”
Kyler Murray’s Release by Cardinals Ended Chances of Kirk Cousins, Vikings Reunion
GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
If the Cardinals had found a trade market for Murray, then Cousins could have ended up the veteran QB Minnesota initially suggested it wanted as competition for McCarthy with regards to the QB1 position during training camp.
Had Cousins reunited with the Vikings and lost out to McCarthy in the battle for the starting role, he would have been a reliable QB2 to serve as an insurance policy against further injuries and/or struggles for McCarthy.
But instead, Arizona released Murray, sending him on his way with a guaranteed salary of $36.8 million in 2026 to play elsewhere. That, in turn, afforded Murray the opportunity to ink a veterans minimum contract of $1.3 million to join the Vikings on a one-year deal.
And as a former two-time Pro Bowler entering his age 29-campaign and willing to sign the cheapest contract allowed under league rules, Murray to Minnesota became a no-brainer on both sides of the equation.
Meanwhile, Cousins ended up squeezed out based on the type of employment he is hunting ahead of what could ultimately prove his final professional campaign.
Vikings May Reunite With Carson Wentz Rather Than Kirk Cousins
GettyFormer Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic noted that Minnesota is almost certainly going to ink a veteran quarterback to join Murray and McCarthy in the position group this offseason.
It just isn’t going to be Cousins.
“Carson Wentz, who played 300 snaps for the Vikings in 2025, would be the likeliest candidate. There is familiarity and mutual interest between the two sides,” Lewis wrote last week. “If Wentz were to sign elsewhere, the Vikings could turn to Andy Dalton, whom the [Carolina] Panthers may be willing to part with after signing Kenny Pickett. Other veterans, like Tyrod Taylor, are available.”
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