10 quarterbacks who could start for the Minnesota Vikings in 2022

When they step on the field for their first game of the 2022 regular season, the Minnesota Vikings could have a brand-new quarterback starting under center.

Following the introductory press conference of new Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, one might have come away with the thought that Kirk Cousins is going to remain the team’s starting quarterback for the 2022 season.

However, there is one rectangular-shaped obstacle that could prevent Cousins from starting under center for the Vikings next season.

Minnesota’s quarterback currently has one year remaining on his contract with the team. For the 2022 season, he is scheduled to have a $45 million cap hit, which is the third-highest in the entire NFL right now.

With a background in finance, new Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is well aware that the team isn’t going to be able to make much of a significant impact to their roster this year if something isn’t done to reduce Cousins’ cap number for the 2022 season.

Minnesota and Adofo-Mensah really have two options. They can either give Cousins an extension to lower his cap hit in 2022, but then probably have to deal with a similar offseason dilemma in 2023 or 2024. Or the Vikings can trade him to another team.

We should know what Minnesota plans to do at the quarterback position by the end of March, and when they make that decision, who will end up as the team’s starting signal-caller for the 2022 season?

Just a heads up, this list does not include any of the quarterbacks from the 2022 draft pool. While anything is possible, especially with the Vikings having a brand-new group of decision-makers, Minnesota’s starting passer for next season will likely be someone who has already spent at least one year in the NFL.