The Door Slams Shut on Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins has always been someone who wants to have his cake and eat it, too. His ideal world involves being a well-paid QB1 who is leading a team that has a chance to win it all. He may need to adjust all three of those requirements.
Indeed, the opportunities are drying up, including in Minnesota.
Earlier today, Ian Rapoport offered the news: “The #Vikings are adding QB depth, signing Carson Wentz to a 1-year deal, per The Insiders. Despite significant injury last year, Wentz started five games and kept the team alive. Now, back with JJ McCarthy and Kyler Murray.” Doing so solidifies the quarterback depth, bringing Minnesota up to four passers: Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer, and Wentz.
Kirk Cousins No Longer in the Running in MIN
Recently, Albert Breer of SI jumped into discussing Cousins’ employment (or lack thereof, perhaps).
“He doesn’t have a home yet,” Breer writes of Cousins. “He does have a $10 million guarantee from the Falcons, one that will shape negotiations in how another team approaches him. And my sense is he’s considering three different paths for his next, and maybe final, step as a pro football player.”
For Breer, there are just a pair of starting jobs that remain up for grabs.
The writer offers his assessment: “The first path has narrowed considerably—that’s the one to a starting job somewhere. There are two places, as it stands now, where that could happen for Cousins. One is in Las Vegas, as the placeholder for presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The other would be Pittsburgh, if Aaron Rodgers decides not to come back (and we don’t have an answer on that yet, obviously).”
The pivot could involve accepting a backup spot somewhere: “The second path would be to join a playoff team as a backup, which would give Cousins the best chance to play well if he did get to come off the bench. That could be the Rams, if Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t re-sign, given Cousins’s background with Sean McVay. It could be the Chiefs, where Chris Oladokun is currently Patrick Mahomes’s primary backup. Or it could be several other places.”
Note that Kansas City has since traded for Justin Fields, meaning that Kirk Cousins will need to look elsewhere for a QB2 gig, if that’s the desire. Even if the Chiefs did call, Cousins would have zero chance of taking away the starting job from Patrick Mahomes once the NFL’s best passer becomes healthy.
Finally, there’s the option to sit around, as Breer notes.
At some point, the NFL is going to see a starting job open up, likely due to injury. There’s a small possibility that major underperformance means a team needs a new option, but that’s similarly difficult to predict. Is there merit in waiting on the side of the gym instead of getting onto the dance floor?
What is certain is that Kirk Cousins no longer has a clear path back to the Vikings. He could, in theory, be added for cheap, but that’s a possibility with essentially zero credibility now that the position is stuffed full of options.
Quite possibly, Kirk Cousins will need to settle in somewhere where he competes for the top spot, doing so on a modest deal while playing for a team that doesn’t have a very good chance at winning a Super Bowl.
In August, Kirk Cousins will arrive at his 38th birthday. He has made north of $320 million in his career but hasn’t won a championship, been an All Pro, or won a major award. He has been a Pro Bowler four times and finished 13th in the Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2024.
He is, nevertheless, capable of being a starter, if needed. Teams to watch include Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and even Green Bay.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
