An NFL insider reportedly projected that the Minnesota Vikings would re-sign Kirk Cousins this offseason. The 7-7 Vikings are still in the playoff hunt more than a month after Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.
The Vikings’ record will place them too far back in the NFL Draft in 2024, making it impossible for them to draft a top quarterback prospect in the first round. With outstanding offensive players like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (in his second season), the Vikings should be able to compete for a Super Bowl next season.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell just wrote about his quarterback projection for the Vikings next season. Barnwell believes the Vikings should offer Cousins a two-year contract this offseason. That should be enough to keep the Vikings in the game as their rebuilt defense complements an entertaining offense.
Cousins is anticipated to be re-signed by the Minnesota Vikings.
Based on Cousins’ performance prior to the injury and the way the defense has improved this season, Barnwell believes the Vikings’ front management will want to bring it back in 2024:
“It’s gone in every direction.” Kirk Cousins was having a great season before hurting his Achilles. Jaren Hall took over and promptly sustained a concussion before giving way to newcomer Joshua Dobbs, who led the Vikings to back-to-back triumphs. Dobbs had two straight losses before winning a 3-0 nailbiter against the Raiders before being benched for Mullens, who had been on injured reserve with a back injury.
The Vikings should be toast without receiver Justin Jefferson and with a shifting cast of quarterbacks. Instead, under Brian Flores, the Vikings’ defense has made the single most improvement from year to year of any unit in the league. Since Week 4, the Vikings have ranked sixth in the NFL in EPA per play allowed, putting them in a tie for sixth place with three other teams at 7-7.”
If the Vikings play their cards correctly in free agency and the draft, they may be dangerous next season. The fact that the Vikings won’t have to establish a new system around a rookie quarterback could make them a formidable club in 2024, but only if Cousins can recover from his Achilles injury and play at the same level he did this season.
That is hardly guaranteed for a quarterback who will be 36 in August.
