The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz recently shared how committed each NFL team is to their quarterback, including the Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins.
When the Minnesota Vikings decided to move on from head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman earlier this year, many thought quarterback Kirk Cousins would be the next one to go.
But that didn’t end up happening. Instead, Minnesota’s new leadership of head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided to give Cousins a one-year contract extension that likely keeps him on the roster until 2024.
O’Connell believes the Vikings can be successful with Cousins as the team’s starting quarterback and he’s going to do whatever he can next season to try and make that happen.
Minnesota Vikings keeping Kirk Cousins labeled the “definition of settling”
The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz recently wrote about how committed each team in the NFL is to their quarterback heading into the 2022 season.
Heifetz gave various labels of commitment to each team, some of which included “Madly in Love,” “Hot and Heavy,” and “Honeymooning.”
For Minnesota, he described their current relationship with Cousins as “You Could Do Worse.” Heifetz went on to explain why he gave the Vikings this specific label of commitment to their starting signal-caller.
"“This is the definition of settling. The Vikings aren’t happy. But they looked around the league this offseason and it was clear that other couples are even more miserable than they are. Getting back out there and dating seems like a lot of work. Plus, the whole thing with Justin Jefferson is going so well that maybe it’s better to just not rock the boat. So they’re sticking with Kirk … again.”"
Basically, we know Cousins isn’t the greatest quarterback in the NFL. But he’s what works best for Minnesota and their current situation heading into next season.
Heifetz is 100 percent correct. The new regime of the Vikings has made it clear that they want to remain very competitive during the 2022 campaign, and when they looked at all of their possible options, keeping Cousins is what they believe will give them the best chance to compete next season.
At this point, it is what it is. Cousins will be Minnesota’s starting quarterback in 2022, and there’s a good chance he’ll keep the role in 2023 as well.
When his contract expires in 2024, will the Vikings and Cousins have a messy breakup, or will they keep things civil and agree to see new people?