The Minnesota Vikings officially made their decision at quarterback. In a move we saw coming over a month ago, they’re bringing Kirk Cousins back into the fold after trading a 2027 third-round pick to the Raiders for his services earlier today.
The move received mixed reactions. Some saw it as a necessary evil, as Minnesota desperately needed stability at the most important position in the sport. That was the only position holding them back this season.
Meanwhile, others believe the decision spotlights just how they got here, in the first place. That spotlight doesn’t exactly paint Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in a good light.
Few were more outspoken on the Cousins trade than First Things First’s Nick Wright. He said the Vikings will be legitimate contenders if Cousins can pick up where he left off with the Raiders, but also didn’t mince words on their process.
“This is one of the most mortifying sequence of transactions for a team I’ve ever seen,” Wright said. “On top of the backup quarterback being unplayable, the soon-to-be-healthy starting quarterback, Kyler Murray, it took them a half-dozen games to learn what they could’ve learned in the half-dozen years of his career prior to this, which is, that’s not going to work.
“They are trading a third because they only got a fifth back for the guy who they drafted in the first round which is why they got rid of Kirk Cousins in the first place. And in the interim, the guy who won a Super Bowl played for them and left. This is catastrophic team building. Kevin O’Connell does not get credit for now having the potential to put out a fire that he started, added gasoline to, and then told the fire department to turn around.”
The Vikings Never Found The Answer To The Kirk Cousins Problem They Created
Wright hit the nail on the head. The process was always wrong, and that was obvious virtually every step of the way. Minnesota made the mistake of moving on from Cousins after the 2023 campaign, and they shouldn’t have done that if they didn’t know they had an ace in the hole.
They drafted J.J. McCarthy to be that ace in the hole, and his first season was lost due to a torn meniscus. Then Sam Darnold stepped up and led the team to a 14-3 season, and they moved on from him. He immediately won a Super Bowl in Seattle, while McCarthy instilled feelings of buyer’s remorse.
Fast forward to this season. Kyler Murray stumbles out of the gate and shows no signs of recovering. Minnesota trades McCarthy to the Giants anyway, and he immediately shows promise there, instilling feelings of sellers’ remorse. And then the Vikings trade for the signal-caller who started it all. The one who donned the Purple and Gold across 91 games from 2018 through 2023.
How Much Of An Upgrade Will Cousins Be For Minnesota?
The Vikings’ offense has been stuck in neutral all season. Despite boasting a 6-2 record, they rank 31st in both total offense (266.8 yards per game) and passing offense (160.8 yards per game).
Meanwhile, Cousins ranks fifth with 2,340 yards. His 20 touchdowns rank second. He might not make any “wow” plays at this stage of his career, but he’s been one of the league’s most efficient QBs this season.
With that said, those plays aren’t a prerequisite for the Vikings. With their elite defense, a signal-caller who can consistently hit the open man and keep the chains moving is worth his weight in gold.
With Cousins already familiar with O’Connell’s scheme and a rapport with the receiving corps, he probably won’t take long to boost the offense. It might be a horrible look for O’Connell, but the move could pay huge dividends for Minnesota’s bottom line over the stretch run.
NFL Analyst Blasts The Vikings For Kirk Cousins Trade And “Mortifying” QB Debacle