The Minnesota Vikings have a major decision to make on quarterback Kirk Cousins this offseason, but a Vikings legend doesn’t see it as much of a dilemma.
Former defensive lineman Jared Allen said back in November that he felt Minnesota should move on from Cousins in free agency, and he doubled down on that point this week.
“You already heard what I said. Again, it was nothing personal,” Allen said during an appearance on the Chasin’ It Podcast. “We have so many moving parts. … I don’t know how you can pay a veteran quarterback, pay [Justin] Jefferson – you got [Danielle] Hunter. You have a laundry list of guys that’re going to have to get taken care of.”
Cousins is slated to hit free agency this March and just tore his Achilles a couple of months ago. When he was on the field this season, he was brilliant, throwing for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games, but his age and the injury are factors that Allen thinks the Vikings should absolutely take into consideration.
Allen even offered up a suggestion: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning.
“I think there’s some options out there to where I don’t think you have to give up the farm for a 35-year-old,” Allen said. “You look at the kid in Cincinnati, who played his a– off this year. You could probably go get him at a relatively cheap price and go get a stud running back and run the ball 25-30 times a game.”
Browning will be an exclusive rights free agent, meaning the Bengals can either retain him on a league minimum salary or trade him to another team.
Perhaps the Vikings will take a look at Browning if they decide to cut ties with Cousins, who has been a member of the club since 2018.
Funny enough, Minnesota actually cut Browning back in March 2020, and Browning made sure he reminded the Vikings of that when he and the Bengals beat Minnesota in mid-December.
The Kirk Cousins conundrum will be one of the more interesting stories to monitor heading into the offseason.
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