Is Kirk Cousins already the second-best passer in Minnesota Vikings history?
Excellent quarterback play for multiple years in a row is not something that has occurred too frequently for the Minnesota Vikings since their very first season back in 1961. During their existence, the Vikings have had a number of signal-callers put up great numbers for a year or two and then quickly come back down to earth.
Only a few Minnesota quarterbacks have been able to put together multiple campaigns of impressive performances and two of them, Fran Tarkenton and Warren Moon, are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
While Tarkenton is the clear and obvious choice as the Vikings’ top signal-caller of all-time, a spot in the Hall of Fame doesn’t mean Moon deserves to automatically be regarded as the second-best passer to ever suit up for Minnesota.
Where does Kirk Cousins rank among the top Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks of all-time?
Currently, Kirk Cousins is in the middle of his third season with the Vikings. After a really rough start, Cousins has gotten things back on track and now he’s playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL.
Using his numbers from his last five games, Minnesota’s current signal-caller is on pace to finish the year with 4,061 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He has never thrown more than 30 touchdowns in a single season during his entire tenure in the league.
If Cousins finishes with these totals, he would pass Brad Johnson to move up to fifth on the Vikings’ all-time list for career passing yards. He currently ranks fourth all-time in Minnesota history in passing touchdowns and his standing wouldn’t change even if he ended up tossing a total of 35 scores this season.
In five weeks, Cousins will have completed his third regular season in a Vikings uniform. With another five starts, he will become the sixth quarterback in franchise history to start at least 45 games in purple and gold.
The other five passers to start under center at least 45 times for Minnesota are Tarkenton, Johnson, Tommy Kramer, Daunte Culpepper, and Wade Wilson.
With the numbers Cousins has been able to put up during his time with the Vikings so far, it’s completely fair to put him in the conversation when attempting to figure out who the franchise’s second-best passer of all-time is.
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Is Minnesota’s current quarterback already the definitive second-best signal-caller in the history of the team though? No, not yet. But if he continues to perform like he has during his first three seasons with the Vikings, it won’t be long before Cousins emerges as the top guy behind Tarkenton without there being any sort of debate.