The Minnesota Vikings are in pretty good hands offensively with Kirk Cousins leading the way. He played very well during clutch times for the team in 2022, taking his game to another level in the fourth quarter and overtime. However, they do have to start considering long-term options for the position.
Cousins will be turning 35 in August and is entering the final season of his contract as 2024 and 2025 are void years on his contract. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that Cousins will remain as Minnesota’s starting quarterback this season and sign another one-year extension with the franchise.
“I think Kirk Cousins will be the Vikings’ quarterback in 2023, and I think, certainly, they’d consider doing another one-year extension with him this offseason,” Breer wrote. “But I also believe that Cousins’s age (he’ll be 35 in Week 1) and contract situation make the Vikings a quiet contender to take a quarterback in April.”
What Breer is referencing is the 2023 NFL Draft. The Vikings are currently in the 24th spot, which would likely take them out of the running for any of the top prospects in this year’s draft class. The top-four signal callers, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, are all projected to go in the top half of the first round, if not the top 10.
According to Breer, this isn’t anything new in Minnesota. During the 2021 NFL Draft, the franchise was in a similar predicament, nearly being in a position to select their quarterback of the future before their division rivals, the Chicago Bears, made a move up the draft board.
“Minnesota’s been here before, and recently. Had Justin Fields slipped to where the team was initially picking in 2021 (No. 14), before dealing down and taking Christian Darrisaw with the 23rd pick, the now-Bears quarterback would’ve been a serious consideration.”
The Bears made a trade with the New York Giants, jumping up into the No. 11 spot to select Justin Fields out of Ohio State. This time, it is Richardson who Breer uses as an example. Should the Florida product slip down draft boards and be available when the Vikings come on the clock, it would be easy for him to see them pulling the trigger.
Richardson has all of the tools to succeed at the next level with his combination of size and raw talent but he needs time to develop. The Vikings could be the perfect landing spot for him as he would be afforded the chance to grow and learn behind Cousins for one if not two seasons as a backup. As we have seen with plenty of prospects, that could be the difference between them flourishing and floundering in their career.