Recent comments from Kirk Cousins reek of obliviousness

On Friday, Kirk Cousins stated that he believes the Minnesota Vikings already have the pieces in place to make a run during the 2022 season.

As the starting quarterback of their franchise, there is no doubt that the Minnesota Vikings want Kirk Cousins to not only be confident in his own abilities, but in the abilities of the guys around him as well.

However, there is a difference between being confident and being delusional. The latter is something that Cousins’ exhibited during a recent appearance on the NFL Network show “Good Morning Football”.

The veteran quarterback was asked to reflect a bit on the disappointing 2021 season Minnesota had and he ended his answer by saying the following words.

"“[I’m] expecting to have a much better year up ahead in 2022. I think we have the roster that can really make a run. So that’s exciting as a quarterback to feel like you have the pieces in place to be a great football team.”"

Kirk Cousins believes the Minnesota Vikings already have the pieces to make a run in 2022

So let’s get this straight. Cousins thinks that the Vikings’ current roster, which was put together by the now-fired Rick Spielman, is ready to “make a run,” during the 2022 season.

Is he talking about the same Minnesota roster that gave up the third-most yards and the eighth-most points to their opponents in 2021?

Is he talking about the same Vikings roster that featured an offense that ranked 26th in third-down conversion rate, 24th in penalties committed, and 28th in expected points added by the rushing offense?

Is Cousins talking about the Minnesota team that is currently projected to be more than $15 million over the salary cap when the new league year begins?

Is he talking about the same Vikings team that could potentially see seven players who were on the field for at least 450 defensive snaps in 2021 depart in free agency this year?

We haven’t even mentioned Minnesota’s offensive line that ended the 2021 campaign with a No. 27 ranking in pass blocking from Pro Football Focus.

Cousins thinks he’s what he’s saying is instilling confidence in the guys that are still a part of the Vikings’ roster heading into next season. But the players in Minnesota’s locker room aren’t stupid, they know they don’t currently have the pieces to “make a run,” in 2022 like their quarterback said on Friday.

Now, can these pieces be added in free agency and this year’s NFL Draft? Yes, they can. At the same time, the Vikings’ don’t currently have the salary cap space or draft capital to significantly improve their roster during the next few months. But that is also something that can change in the near future.

It’s nice that Cousins is trying to give off the feeling that he’s optimistic about Minnesota for next season. But his comments on Friday just came off as delusional and oblivious to the current state of the team.

People who disagree with this would probably like to know what Cousins should have said instead. Well, there is a way to sound both optimistic and realistic at the same time.

Cousins would have come off much more believable if he provided an answer that described how the Vikings have the makings of a roster that could surprise some people in 2022 in addition to talking about how the team adding a few new faces during the next few months could potentially result in them having more success next season than what they experienced in 2021.

Now, that could have been the general idea of what the Minnesota quarterback was trying to deliver in his comments on Friday. But instead, he made it sound like the Vikings roster, in its current state, is ready to be a contender in the NFC next season.

But that’s okay, Cousins is still learning. Maybe in year 11, he’ll figure out how to be more natural and believable with his answers and sound less like a robot reading from a teleprompter