Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson said on Wednesday it would be “perfect” if the Vikings re-signed quarterback Kirk Cousins when his contract expires at the end of this season but that it isn’t his decision to make.
Jefferson, who has consistently been one of Cousins’ biggest supporters, said just last week that he would “give that extra word” to Minnesota’s front office to re-sign the 35-year-old quarterback, who will be a free agent after this season and is currently recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon.
“Yeah I feel like I really don’t have to voice my opinion that much,” Jefferson said last week. “You can just look at the stats and look at the play. Especially before he went down this year. But I definitely will always give that extra word or two for Kirko, for sure.”
Jefferson didn’t say anything of the sort when he was asked about the Vikings’ quarterback situation by reporters again on Wednesday, but he did offer Cousins his endorsement before saying that he won’t be the one to make the call.
“It’s not really under my control. All I can control is my play and what I do out there on the field. I’m confident they’re going to make the right decision up there to bring whoever they need to bring in in the building to throw us the ball next year,” Jefferson said. “If it’s Kirk, perfect. If it’s whoever they choose, it’s not my decision. Always going to continue to just be myself regardless and just play my best ball whenever I’m out there on the field.”
Since Cousins went down, the Vikings have had several players rotate in and out at the quarterback position. Jaren Hall started on Nov. 5 at the Atlanta Falcons, the first game after Cousins tore his Achilles, but suffered a concussion early in the first quarter and was forced to leave the game. Recently-acquired Josh Dobbs entered the game for Hall and miraculously led the Vikings to a 31-28 victory.
Dobbs started the Vikings’ next four games — a Nov. 12 win over the New Orleans Saints, a Nov. 19 loss to the Denver Broncos, a Nov. 27 loss to the Chicago Bears and a Dec. 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders — but was benched during the Raiders game as the Vikings were unable to generate anything offensively.
Nick Mullens entered the game for Dobbs and led the Vikings to their only scoring drive in the 3-0 win over Las Vegas, and he started the Vikings’ next two games: a Dec. 16 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and a Dec. 24 loss to the Detroit Lions. Then he was benched in favor of Hall for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers after throwing six combined interceptions against the Bengals and Lions.
Mullens’ benching didn’t last long, however, as Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell pulled Hall during the loss to the Packers and reinserted Mullens into the quarterback position. O’Connell announced on Wednesday that Mullens will start Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Lions.
The quarterback carousel has likely made Jefferson fonder of his time with Cousins, who has thrown Jefferson the ball since he entered the league in 2020. In that time Jefferson has caught 380 passes for 5,707 yards and 29 touchdowns. Jefferson, currently in his fourth season, has the most receiving yards of any player through their first four seasons in NFL history.
