Vikings should extend Kirk Cousins if they enjoy being mediocre
By Adam Patrick
When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings figuring out what to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason, extending him is one of the options on the table.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared his thoughts on what the Minnesota Vikings will do with Kirk Cousins this year. Due to the expected hiring of Kevin O’Connell as the Vikings’ new head coach, Shefter believes the team will find a way to keep Cousins on their roster for the 2022 season.
On Monday, some similar thoughts about the veteran quarterback came courtesy of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Soon-to-be Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell conveyed a firm belief in Kirk Cousins during the interview process, I'm told. He's high on him. The front office must decide on Cousins' future due to his $45M cap hit, but many coaches interviewing for job liked Cousins, O'Connell included
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 7, 2022
Extending Kirk Cousins would be a terrible decision for the Minnesota Vikings to make
With the expected hiring of O’Connell and the recent addition of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as the team’s general manager, the Vikings now have a brand new regime that has almost zero ties to anyone on the team’s current roster.
Adofo-Mensah is a first-time general manager and O’Connell will be a first-time head coach when he’s eventually hired. Why in the world would either of them want to gamble their futures on a quarterback in Cousins that has led a team to a grand total of one playoff victory since he entered the NFL in 2012?
Sure Cousins has put up above-average numbers during his time with the Vikings, but it hasn’t amounted to really anything in terms of team success. So instead of investing even more money into someone that is just going to keep Minnesota right in the middle of the NFL, the Vikings are better off figuring out a plan to move on from him by the end of the 2022 season at the very latest.
When it comes to the thoughts from Schefter and Fowler, these are actually helping increase the trade value of Cousins. Don’t expect to hear any reports during the next few weeks that portray the Minnesota quarterback in a negative way as the team will be looking to increase his trade value as high as they possibly can.
There could potentially be around 10 teams looking for a new quarterback this offseason, so the opportunity to get a satisfying compensation package for Cousins might not ever be as great as it is this year for the Vikings. Adofo-Mensah’s tenure with Minnesota would be off to a terrible start if trading Cousins isn’t even a consideration during the next few months.
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Risks need to be taken by the Vikings’ new regime in order for the franchise to reach their ultimate goal and, at this point, extending a quarterback who is known for his lack of risk-taking abilities isn’t something that seems like it will result in Minnesota raising a Vince Lombardi trophy anytime soon.