Even after giving Kirk Cousins an extension this year, could the Minnesota Vikings already be thinking about landing his future replacement in the 2021 NFL Draft?
Immediately after signing a fully-guaranteed, $84 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018, the expectations for Kirk Cousins as an NFL quarterback increased by a tremendous amount.
Cousins’ first season with the Vikings was a disappointment, but he and the team bounced back in 2019 to make all the way to the divisional round of the playoffs. Despite Minnesota missing the postseason during their first year with him under center, the franchise still felt he was worth a lucrative extension back in March.
With the Vikings deciding to extend him, Cousins is now under contract with the team until 2023. It’s not an incredibly long extension and it’s one that could allow Minnesota to potentially add his eventual replacement during next year’s NFL Draft if they find someone who they believe could fill the role.
A question related to this subject of drafting a quarterback in 2021 was recently presented to the guys over at Bleeding Purple. More specifically, the question was in relation to the Vikings’ potential interest in adding current University of Minnesota signal-caller Tanner Morgan or North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance during next year’s draft.
For the prospects who could be available in 2021, The Draft Network has Lance ranked as their third quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields while Morgan is sitting as their ninth-best signal-caller.
Lawrence and Fields are likely going to be off the board following the first five picks of next year’s draft. But Lance could be someone who is still available around the lower third of the first round and that might be where the Vikings are slotted in 2021 if they are able to qualify for the playoffs again next season.
As for Morgan, he’s coming off an impressive performance in 2019 where he finished with 3,253 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. But for him to vault into first-round consideration next year, his numbers will likely have to improve even more during his junior season with the Gophers.
Is there a quarterback prospect who the Vikings could consider selecting early in the 2021 draft? Anything is possible, but Cousins’ latest deal with Minnesota has probably caused this potential scenario to be put on hold until 2022 at the earliest.
Make sure to follow and subscribe to Bleeding Purple (Apple – Spotify – YouTube) for the latest news and rumors on the Vikings in addition to interviews with current and former Minnesota players.