A lot of attending is being paid to the quarterback position when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings. Some people believe that the team will move on from Kirk Cousins, who carries a $45 million cap hit for 2022.
With Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer, two integral people in the decision to bring Cousins to Minnesota in 2018, both being fired, there is a chance the new regime wants to move on from him. Yes, the cap hit is high, but why create another hole on the roster when you don’t need to?
Having Cousins for at least one more season wouldn’t be the worst thing. Extending him would also alleviate some of the cap concerns and is a route the organization could decide to take. He had a good 2021 and the offense is not the problem in Minnesota.
The problem for the Vikings in recent seasons has been their defense. They had eight losses by one score in 2021, so just one or two breaks and they could have been a playoff team. There are some cap concerns, but fixing the defense is paramount if they want to find success in 2022.
If they can clear the necessary cap space, Jordy McElroy of Vikings Wire believes J.C. Jackson of the New England Patriots is the player Minnesota should target in free agency. Jackson is a premier cornerback, which is one of the positions they need to overhaul this offseason.
Throwing on the Vikings, especially on the outside, was basically guaranteed success for opponents. They surrendered 1,802 yards on the perimeter and only had 18 plays on the ball according to PFF, which were both third worst.
Bashaud Breeland, who was cut in December, was torched regularly and registered a coverage grade of 45.3, which was fourth-worst among qualified players. Mackensie Alexander struggled as well, finishing with the lowest coverage grade among slot corners in the NFL.
Veteran Patrick Peterson is hitting free agency again, so there really isn’t much to work with in that defensive backfield. Adding the 26-year old Jackson would give them a foundational piece to build around and finally get the defensive unit back on track.
