Vikings QB Kirk Cousins Is Feared to Have Suffered a Torn Achilles in Week 8
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings managed to win their third-straight game of the 2023 season, defeating the Green Bay Packers by a score of 24-10.
However, they had to close out the game without their starting QB Kirk Cousins. The 35-year-old quarterback left the game in the fourth quarter with what was initially called an ankle injury.
Two things made the injury scary. Firstly, it was a non-contact injury, and then, Minnesota very quickly ruled him out for the remainder of the game. Following the game, reports have suggested that it may be the worst-case scenario.
Kirk Cousins Feared to Have Suffered a Torn Achilles
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweeted the following after the game: “#Vikings QB Kirk Cousins suffered an Achilles injury based on the initial examination, per coach Kevin O’Connell. Cousins will undergo an MRI, but the diagnosis on Achilles is rarely wrong. It appears his season is over.”
Kevin O’Connell also stated during his postgame press conference that the team is “fearing” Cousins suffered an Achilles injury.
If this is indeed the case for Cousins, it would be a brutal loss for the Vikings moving forward, who have been playing their best football of the season. The Vikings QB had been fantastic through the first eight weeks of the year, passing for 2,331 yards and 18 TDs compared to 5 INTs.
Moving ahead to Week 9, it appears that the Vikings will have to roll with rookie Jaren Hall as their starter. Nick Mullens is on IR for at least one more week because of a back injury suffered earlier this season, and he is ineligible to return until at least Week 10.
Hall finished the game on Sunday for the Vikings and completed 3/4 passes for 23 yards but also lost a fumble on a strip-sack. Luckily, Minnesota’s defense suppressed any comeback threat from Green Bay, putting together another terrific game against Jordan Love.
Though nothing has been officially confirmed yet, one has to wonder what the Vikings are thinking with the trade deadline arriving on Tuesday.
The team is back to .500 at 4-4 and in the playoff hunt, but do they go back to considering a trade involving their veteran players and rebuild for the future? Do they become buyers and attempt to bring in more weapons to make things easier on a different starting QB?
It certainly looks like the next couple days will be telling in terms of Minnesota’s belief in Hall and/or Mullens as a starting QB.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.