After a horrible performance by Carson Wentz capping off a half-season of poor performing quarterback play, the Minnesota Vikings are bringing back Kirk Cousins to lead the offense for the rest of the season. In exchange, the Vikings are sending their third-round pick (not the one from the Eagles) in the 2027 draft to Las Vegas. Cousins will have minimal impact on the Vikings’ 2026 salary cap ($650K) but is due a roster bonus of $10 million next year.
The Vikings and then GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah balked
at Cousins’ demands for a contract extension back in 2024, as they were planning to draft a quarterback high that year- and did in J.J. McCarthy- and opted for Sam Darnold as a bridge option. Cousins ultimately got double-crossed by the Atlanta Falcons, who gave Cousins a big contract but also drafted Michael Penix in the first round and ultimately ate a lot of Cousins’ contract as he struggled in the year after his Achilles tear. He eventually was signed by the Raiders this year as a bridge to their top draft pick, Fernando Mendoza. He has played well this year, ranking 10th in EPA/play, right there with the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFC North.
Cousins was quarterback the last time the Vikings won a playoff game- in 2019. This is the second time the Vikings were ‘only a quarterback away’ from competing for a championship, but with the way the Vikings defense is playing and the rest of the supporting cast on offense, that may be more true now than it was back in 2018 when Cousins was originally signed.
Now the question will be how quickly Cousins can reacclimate to the Vikings offense. My guess is that the Vikings and Cousins will do everything they can to have him start on Sunday against the Packers at Lambeau Field, which is where he played his last game as a Viking in his first stint with the Vikings.
The acquisition of Cousins will be just the balm the Vikings need after suffering two defeats that easily could have been victories with decent quarterback play. Now the Vikings should have at least decent quarterback play with Cousins at the helm, and be in a better position to reclaim the lead in the division by the end of the season and make a run in the playoffs with good injury luck.
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