Vikings admit Kirk Cousins is not an elite quarterback

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently spoke to ProFootballTalk about how his team can win with quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Following another season that didn’t result in a trip to the playoffs, the Minnesota Vikings decided to make a significant change to their organization by firing head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman earlier this year.

The Vikings replaced Zimmer and Spielman with Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, two people who had zero years of experience at the positions they were hired for. With this being the case, some figured that Minnesota’s roster was next in line to undergo some major changes, specifically the quarterback position.

However, the Vikings went out and actually extended the contract of quarterback Kirk Cousins to essentially keep him on the roster until 2024. Minnesota’s new regime believes they can do what the old one couldn’t and utilize Cousins’ strengths to lead the franchise to success.

Minnesota Vikings GM admits Kirk Cousins is not an elite quarterback

Adofo-Mensah recently spoke to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio and the new Vikings general manager was asked about the decision to keep Cousins on the roster this year.

Here’s what Adofo-Mensah had to say.

"“Look, Kirk’s a really good quarterback. When you study historically what wins in the NFL, yes, elite, special quarterback play does matter. But there are other ways to win it.We think the best version of [Cousins], and surrounding him with other things, gives us a really good chance [to win].”"

Minnesota’s new general manager is a smart guy. He knows that Cousins has put up some impressive numbers during the last few years, but he’s still not playing at a level comparable to a Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, or Aaron Rodgers.

Here’s the thing though. It sounds like the Vikings are completely okay with Cousins not being elite. Like Adofo-Mensah said, they believe that if they can put the right pieces around the quarterback, the team can be successful moving forward.

Minnesota knows they don’t have the best quarterback in the NFL on their roster right now. But they think Cousins is at least good enough to help them accomplish their goals next season.