ESPN Gives Their Take on the Vikings’ QB Situation
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have big decisions in front of them at the quarterback position.
For the first time since Kirk Cousins signed with the team back in 2018, he does not have a contract with the team for next season. As a result, Minnesota will have to decide whether they want to re-sign the veteran or try and find an adequate replacement either via free agency or in the draft.
This week, the writers for ESPN put their minds together to come up with the most pressing questions for all 32 teams this offseason, and the question posed for the Vikings is in regard to their quarterback situation. Namely, it reads, “What is the future at quarterback?”
ESPN Gives Their Take on the Vikings’ QB Situation
Kevin Seifert, their beat writer covering the Vikings, wrote the following in regard to Minnesota’s process of answering this question:
The Vikings have a two-front challenge at the game’s most important position. First, they need to find out whether they’ll be able to re-sign incumbent Kirk Cousins, whose contract automatically voids on March 13. If they can’t, they’ll likely have to find a veteran to serve as at least a short-term starter. And whether they bring back Cousins, they have to decide whether the time has come to identify and (try to) acquire a longer-term answer through the draft. Cousins will be 36 this summer.
It should be noted that, if the Vikings are unable to come to an agreement with Cousins by March 13th, his $28.5 million in dead money will go into effect. Signing him to an extension (i.e. inking a deal anytime before March 13th) would prevent that, thus potentially allowing the Vikings to save money against the salary cap for 2024.
On the other hand, signing Cousins to a new deal will most likely push his money even further into the future. If the Vikings want to clear their books for 2025 and beyond, they may opt to let the veteran walk and sign elsewhere.
There is one tidbit of information from Seifert’s write-up that is interesting, though. He alludes to the idea that the Vikings would “likely” try to sign a cheaper veteran to start in 2024 if they don’t re-sign Cousins. Many have clamored for Minnesota to draft a quarterback (potentially trading up to do so), and considering the Vikings’ current QB situation with only Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens under contract, that rookie would presumably have an opportunity to start right away.
Instead, Seifert becomes just the latest analyst to toss in the idea of a bridge quarterback. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network suggested a similar idea last weekend prior to the Super Bowl, saying, “[The Vikings] would like to re-sign Kirk Cousins, who is set to become a free agent in March, but my anticipation is Cousins will have a strong market even at age-35 coming off a torn Achilles. […] If in fact the price tag goes too high, the Vikings likely would pursue a more economical veteran. One guy that’s a possibility? Sam Darnold, the 49ers current backup.”
Pelissero name-dropped Darnold as a potential suitor, which makes some sense. After being the backup QB for the San Francisco 49ers this past season, he likely will be a cheaper option on the open market. Darnold also played in Kyle Shanahan’s system, who helped bring along Kevin O’Connell’s mentor, Sean McVay, while they were together in Washington. Thus, the switch from Shanahan’s system to O’Connell’s likely wouldn’t be all that difficult.
The Vikings could already have that “bridge QB” in the building as well with Mullens under contract through the end of the season. He started three games in Minnesota during the 2023 season and has been with the team for two years, so he knows the system already.
At the end of the day, the Vikings likely want to find a true long-term solution at the QB spot this offseason, so a bridge quarterback may be a last result option. However, it simply cannot be ruled out at this point in time.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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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.