The Viking Age
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How the Minnesota Vikings can use the ‘cheap QB’ strategy

By Chris Schad

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 20: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter in the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 20: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter in the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) Kirk Cousins
(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) Kirk Cousins /

What should the Minnesota Vikings do?

Like many blueprints to build an NFL roster, some aren’t for everyone (such as hiring any Patriots assistant coach). Grabbing a young quarterback may be attractive to some that are already sick of Cousins, but the current state of the roster is also something that has to be considered.

Coming into 2019, several key Vikings will be beginning to get long in the tooth. Everson Griffen may not even be on the roster with an $11.9 million cap number next season at age 32 and Harrison Smith (30), Xavier Rhodes (29) and Linval Joseph (31) could also be off this roster by the time the Vikings’ next franchise quarterback finds its groove.

With the current state of the roster, the best solution for the Vikings may be to follow what Kansas City did this past offseason. Two years ago, the Chiefs got aggressive and traded up to select Patrick Mahomes despite having Alex Smith on the roster. After sitting behind Smith for a year, the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins and turned Mahomes loose in 2018.

The Chiefs fell short of the Super Bowl, but Mahomes had a monster season. With an absurdly cheap cap number of $4.4 million and $31 million in cap space, Kansas City has the flexibility to go hard after players that can help bolster their 24th ranked defense.

Next. Weighing the Vikings options at backup QB. dark

If the Minnesota Vikings follow a similar approach in 2020, that could mean throwing assets at the offensive line while rolling with a new wave core that could include Mike Hughes, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs as players that have cheap rookie deals or are already locked up.

All of this means that 2019 will be a pivotal year in Cousins’ Vikings tenure.

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