Some members of the NFL community understandably feel that the Minnesota Vikings are preparing to reunite with current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins after Cousins becomes available.
However, multiple NFL reporters suggested that Cousins may not be in a hurry to sign with Minnesota or a different club once the new league year opens on March 11.
Kirk Cousins wants to play during 2026 season, but…
“Cousins wants to play this season,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano shared on Sunday. “I was told the rumors of him potentially retiring to take a TV job are incorrect. But he could be selective about his next destination. The past two times Cousins was a free agent, he received deals from Minnesota and Atlanta quickly. But this time, Cousins likely will wait to see how some of these situations shake out before deciding — even if that means waiting through the offseason for some team’s situation to change in his favor.”
Perhaps Cousins will follow in the footsteps of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, who remained in touch with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout last offseason but didn’t officially put pen to paper on his deal until June.
As for the Vikings, they aren’t hiding the fact that they plan to add to a quarterback room currently occupied by J.J. McCarthy. The perception exists that Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell wants to sit McCarthy unless the 2024 first-round draft pick looks like a revelation during training camp workouts.
Meanwhile, Cousins played well in O’Connell’s offense from September 2022 up until a torn Achilles ended the veteran’s 2023 season in October of that year.
What Kirk Cousins reportedly is “looking for” from new NFL home
It sounds like Cousins will want more than simply a chance to compete for a QB1 job after the 37-year-old decides that he’s ready to ink a contract.
On Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that “Cousins will be looking for a commitment from a team” as a free agent.
“Not the kind he’d get earlier in his career,” Breer continued. “He knows that’s not coming. However, what he’d like now is something that shows that the team signing him sees him as the team’s starter. That’s why I think he’d rather not play on the minimum and leave the Falcons with the rest of his guaranteed money for this fall. His number, by the way, is lower than that of the other three quarterbacks at $10M. So it’s not like it’d take $30M to get a contract done. And by getting, say, even $12M or $14M from a new team, it’d show that team was planning to give him a go as its starter.”
Interestingly, Breer added that it’s possible that Cousins “waits the market out, or even for a potential training camp injury over the summer.” In short, it appears that the Vikings or a different club may have to wow Cousins to get him to sign a deal before the draft gets underway on April 23.
