The Minnesota Vikings chose to release Kirk Cousins because keeping him as their quarterback would have been too costly, but the resulting expense could be even higher.
The $180 million contract ($45 million per year) that Cousins got from the Atlanta Falcons, which included $100 million guaranteed, isn’t a crazy amount to invest in a quarterback in today’s NFL — at least not in a general sense. However, Cousins will be 36 years old next season and is coming off an Achilles injury that is the worst injury of his 12-year career.
Besides that, his value compared to his performance wasn’t great during his six years in Minnesota. Cousins received three Pro Bowl nods during that time and consistently put up impressive regular-season numbers, but the Vikings reached the playoffs only twice and had a 1-2 postseason record in those two appearances.
Adofo-Mensah's decision to let the QB walk in free agency avoided Cousins’ questionable value, and it’s what caused Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report to describe Cousins’ deal with the Falcons as the “riskiest contract in free agency” on Friday, March 29: Kirk Cousins Probably Wouldn’t Have Made Vikings Super Bowl Contenders in 2024 Quarterback Kirk Cousins, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.
The question here isn’t whether Cousins makes the Falcons a better team. It’s whether he makes them good enough to justify $45 million per season and $100 million in guarantees.
To be fair, Cousins is a good quarterback. … But while Cousins may be good, he isn’t great — the 35-year-old has struggled in high-pressure situations, winning just one playoff game in five tries and going 19-36 in 4 p.m. ET and primetime games.
Does Cousins make the Falcons better? Yes. Does he make Atlanta a Super Bowl contender? No.
Atlanta has legitimate talent on the offensive side of the football in running back
GettyBijan Robinson
and wide receiver Drake London . That said, the Falcons’ skill position talent is not as good as the wide receiver duo of Justin JeffersonJordan Addison in Minnesota, along with the talent of tight end and T.J. Hockenson and new running back However, Cousins’ value remains the same in both scenarios. He’s good, but not great. He could have made the Vikings a legitimate playoff contender in 2024, but being a Super Bowl contender would have been a stretch. So that means Adofo-Mensah and Minnesota avoided a major multiyear contract extension for Cousins, right? Not necessarily. Aaron Jones.
Being a Super Bowl contender is rare in the NFL, usually only possessed by a few teams each season. But it is very valuable to be a yearly playoff contender, both in terms of pleasing the fan base and instilling confidence among the best players in the locker room that winning will continue. In other words, the kind of stuff that keeps GMs and head coaches in their jobs for multiple contracts.
Vikings Taking Big Risk on Unknown QB in Draft by Letting Kirk Cousins Walk
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota passed on other top free-agent QBs like
GettyBaker Mayfield
in March and chose not to trade for Justin Fields , formerly of the Chicago Bears. Instead, the team signed to a one-year deal and will now put all its hopes on the draft.In fairness to the Vikings, this is not a bad year to take that chance, with as many as six quarterbacks poised to be picked in the first round. However, Minnesota’s first pick is not until No. 11, which puts the team a number of selections away from the certainty of choosing a top-three or top-four prospect. Sam Darnold The team has taken steps to increase its chances of getting a key player this April, which includes trading assets to get the No. 23 overall pick from the
Houston Texans
, which they can combine with the 11th pick to move up. The Vikings may also need to add a future first-round pick to move into the top 3-5, although this is crucial for validating their recent strategy. The situation Minnesota has created for itself involves a 2024 season that may end up being seen as just treading water, which wastes a year of Jefferson’s prime as he holds considerable leverage as an extension-eligible All-Pro player. It then involves heavily investing in a rookie quarterback without a guarantee of exactly who that player will be due to an inability to predict exactly where in the draft order the Vikings will be able to select him.Adofo-Mensah showed restraint in letting Cousins go, though the bet he’s making is risky. But there is no turning back now.
The Minnesota Vikings chose to let go of Kirk Cousins because keeping him would have been too costly, but the resulting cost could prove even higher.
Adofo-Mensah showed restraint in letting Cousins walk, though the bet he’s making is risky. But there is no turning back now.
