Did George Paton – A Former Vikings Exec – Take a Shot at Kirk Cousins?
K. Joudry
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Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk read into George Paton’s recent comments about Russell Wilson. Did George Paton toss out a subtle shot at Kirk Cousins when praising Wilson? Florio thinks so.
Before becoming Denver’s GM, Paton was one of the leading executives in Minnesota. He thus has a thorough understanding of Minnesota’s recent rosters, which includes Mr. Cousins. Florio’s discussion with Paton featured some talk of what made Wilson so attractive for Denver:
“I just think you look at the teams that have won,” Paton said. “And what’s the common trait? Typically, it’s a quarterback. And then you look at Russ’s record. Over the first 10 years he’s won more games than any quarterback I believe in history. That’s a pretty good record of winning. . . . He’s a winner. The proof is in the pudding. Look at his record. He wins games. Now, they had a lot of good players around him, I get it. And we’re gonna need a lot of good players around him. And hopefully we have enough around him where we can take that next step.”
George Paton then reflects on his experience in Minnesota, but focuses on a QB other than Kirk Cousins. In Paton’s mind, there was one Vikings QB who elevated the rest of the roster: “I experienced that for one year, two years actually, when we got [Brett] Favre in Minnesota. I remember that first practice. Really, you knew it. It elevated everyone. And it didn’t just elevate the players. It elevated the people in the building, the work ethic, the accountability. We feel that here with Russ.”
So, Paton experienced a dynamic, winning QB in Minnesota for two seasons. That came when Brett Favre was under center. Cousins, it seems, didn’t have the same capacity to inspire the rest of the team.
Earlier in the offseason, Rick Spielman was asked if a team could win it all with Cousins at QB. Spielman’s answer didn’t inspire much confidence in the current QB1: “He has a lot of great qualities. I think he’s one of the most accurate throwers in the league. You watch some of the tape and some of the throws he makes under pressure. I think some of the other things he has to have a strong supporting cast around him.”
For whatever it’s worth, the former leadership team doesn’t have a ton of confidence in Cousins. Partner that with the obvious reluctance from Zim to fully get behind his QB1 and it’s fair to say that the decision-makers with perhaps the most knowledge of Cousins aren’t particularly confident.
Hopefully, the new GM/HC combo feels more confident in their QB situation.
