Kirk Cousins could be creating a rift within the Minnesota Vikings

Has the process of re-signing Kirk Cousins started a rift between Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah?

On Monday, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer shared some of the things he heard at last week's NFL Scouting Combine about Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Here's how Breer began the section in his weekly Monday column on Cousins' future with the Vikings.

"I’ll start by saying it’s my belief that the Minnesota Vikings want to keep Cousins—and by that, I mean in particular the Minnesota coaching staff."

Is Kirk Cousins creating a rift between the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff and front office?

What Breer shared about Minnesota wanting to bring Cousins back for the 2024 season is not new news. However, what he mentioned about how the Vikings' coaching staff "in particular" would like the team to re-sign the veteran quarterback this year is not something that should be ignored.

During the first two years of head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah leading Minnesota's new regime, it has felt like both have been on the same page for the majority of the time.

With Cousins, however, it seems possible that deciding whether or not to bring the Pro Bowl signal-caller back for at least one more season is something that the Vikings' current head coach and general manager have disagreed about during the last few months.

Based on some of his recent comments, it seems like O'Connell would prefer Minnesota do almost whatever they can to re-sign Cousins this year.

Adofo-Mensah has also shared a similar desire for the Vikings to retain the quarterback. However, his comments have typically been concluded with a reminder that a new deal has to be one that benefits both the player and the team.

If Cousins ends up leaving Minnesota this year and the Vikings are unable to come up with a successful solution to replace him, could this result in the crumbling of the relationship between O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah?

Remember, when Minnesota originally signed Cousins back in 2018, former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer made it clear that he opposed the idea of spending a ton of money on a free-agent quarterback. Despite Zimmer's concerns, Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman went ahead and signed Cousins anyway.

That offseason felt like the beginning of the end for the working relationship between Zimmer and Spielman. Could this year's decision about Cousins end up causing a similar irredeemable rift between the Vikings' current regime?