The Minnesota Vikings were thought to be in the rookie quarterback market in the 2023 NFL Draft, and while they did select a signal-caller, they waited until the fifth round to do so. It’s far too early to say whether BYU’s Jaren Hall will be the Vikings’ long-term answer under center, but Kirk Cousins is ensconced as Minnesota’s starter for at least one more season.
With Cousins set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024, how will the Vikings approach their quarterback situation moving forward?
The Vikings Could Extend Kirk Cousins Again
Cousins has conducted the business aspect of football perhaps as well as any player in recent memory. After back-to-back franchise tags from Washington in 2016 and 2017 gave Cousins immense leverage on the 2018 open market, he landed a fully guaranteed, three-year, $84 million deal from the Vikings.
Since then, he’s extended his contract twice, first with a two-year, $66 million pact in 2020, then with a one-year, $35 million accord in 2022. Cousins’ most recent extension included a no-trade clause and added void years through 2027, further helping to reduce his 2023 cap charge to just $20.25 million.
Although Minnesota appeared to be trending toward parting ways with Cousins at some point in the near future, perhaps as soon as the 2024 offseason, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah recently suggested that the two sides could potentially agree to a new extension.
“When you go into a contract negotiation, you’re trying to come up with solutions together,” Adofo-Mensah said. “It’s not just what Kwesi wants or what the Vikings want or what Kirk wants. It’s what we can do together to ultimately put up that Lombardi [Trophy]. Sometimes you come to a place where you decide, ‘Hey, let’s talk later. This is a solution for now.’ That’s all that’s happened.”
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While Cousins, who will turn 35 years old this summer, has generally been relatively underrated throughout his career, he took a small step backward in 2022. He posted 7.1 yards per attempt and a 49.9 QBR, both career lows, and finished as the NFL’s No. 17 quarterback by expected points added per dropback.
Adofo-Mensah is clearly aware that Cousins is not among the league’s elite quarterbacks, but somewhere in the middle tier. Last summer, Adofo-Mensah said, “The one asset where you get nervous about not burning it down is quarterback,” and admitted that the Vikings “don’t have Tom Brady” and “don’t have Patrick Mahomes.”
Still, after Minnesota won 13 games despite poor underlying metrics last season, they pushed themselves out of the range of top-end quarterback draft territory. As such, it could make sense for the Vikings to give Cousins another short-term deal if they’re unable to find an upgrade heading into 2024.
“Kirk doesn’t need to show anything to me,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Kirk has played football at a high level before I got to the Minnesota Vikings. Last year, we won 13 games. I don’t know what he would need to prove to me or anybody else.”
The Vikings could use the franchise tag on Cousins next season, but because it would be the third franchise tender of his career, he’d be entitled to 144% of his 2023 salary. That’s probably unfeasible for a Minnesota squad that projects to be relatively cap-strapped again next year.
Where Else Can the Vikings Turn at Quarterback?
The Vikings haven’t exactly hidden their interest in exploring other quarterback options. They reportedly discussed a potential trade for the 49ers’ Trey Lance at the Scouting Combine, but no deal came together.
Minnesota was rumored to be interested in moving up the draft board last weekend to target one of this year’s top quarterback prospects, but the price tag of moving from pick No. 23 into the top three likely proved too exorbitant. The Vikings passed on the chance to select Kentucky’s Will Levis with their first-round pick, and he eventually came off the board at the top of Round 2.
The Vikings ended up with Hall, who will be a 25-year-old rookie after completing two years of LDS missions in college. Minnesota isn’t pinning its future quarterbacks on a player chosen with the 164th pick, and PFN Draft Analyst Ian Cummings expressed some doubts about Hall’s upside in his pre-draft scouting profile.
“Hall is a team leader who has a baseline level of natural talent, and that’s what helps secure his status as a draftable player,” said Cummings. “He’s athletic, mobile, and proficient as a creator. His arm is strong enough and elastic enough to test coverages and throw receivers open. He’s also relatively poised in the pocket, is willing to stand in and deliver amidst pressure, and brings exceptional situational precision.
Even as a 25-year-old rookie with two years as a starter under his belt, however, Hall isn’t an elite processor, and with his age and non-elite tools, the margin for error is a bit smaller for him overall. He can still further refine his mechanics, and his internal clock in the pocket remains inconsistent at times.
To Hall’s credit, he improved in 2022, but he still needs more work than you’d prefer for a 25-year-old rookie, and his development may be nearing stagnation.”
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If Hall isn’t the answer, the Vikings could scramble to replace Cousins next offseason. Minnesota doesn’t have any extra picks in the first or second rounds of the 2024 draft, so if they again fall outside the top 10 picks, they’d likely have to sacrifice future draft capital to make a move up next year’s board.
Free agency, as usual, won’t be an option for teams searching for passers. Now that the Ravens have extended Lamar Jackson, Cousins projects as the best option on the 2024 market. Moving from Cousins to another free agent like Ryan Tannehill or Jacoby Brissett would represent a downgrade for the Vikings.
Minnesota could consider a trade, but even that avenue might have its limitations. The Cardinals’ new regime could make Kyler Murray available, but that’s far from a guarantee. Jared Goff might interest the Vikings, but even though Minnesota and Detroit orchestrated a trade for tight end T.J. Hockenson last year, an intra-division deal for a quarterback might be a different story.
With limited paths to an upgrade, re-upping Cousins might be the best option for the Vikings, even if that scenario is somewhat underwhelming. At the very least, Cousins would allow Minnesota to keep its head above water and continue what Adofo-Mensah has referred to as a “competitive rebuild.”