The Minnesota Vikings were heavily connected with the quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, but as the event came to a close on Saturday, the only signal caller that Minnesota selected was BYU’s Jaren Hall in the fifth round.
Speaking to reporters after the draft, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stopped short of calling Hall the successor to Kirk Cousins, who is entering the final year of his deal. Even more important, Adofo-Mensah also noted that the door isn’t closed on Cousins returning in 2024.
“When you go into a contract negotiation, you’re trying to come up with solutions together,” Adofo-Mensah said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “It’s not just what Kwesi wants or what the Vikings want or what Kirk wants. It’s what we can do together to ultimately put up that Lombardi. Sometimes you come to a place where you decide, ‘Hey, let’s talk later. This is a solution for now.’ That’s all that’s happened.”
Cousins arguably had his best year in Minnesota, leading the Vikings to 13 wins and tying an NFL record with eight fourth-quarter comebacks. Although he will turn 35 in August, Adofo-Mensah noted that Cousins “doesn’t need to show anything” in order to return in 2024.
“Kirk has played football at a high level before I got to the Minnesota Vikings,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Last year we won 13 games. I don’t know what he would need to prove to me or anybody else.”
Related: Why the Vikings wanted quarterback Jaren Hall
Related: Is a Kirk Cousins–Trey Lance trade still a possibility?
Cousins has the tools to succeed after the draft as the Vikings added USC receiver Jordan Addison in the first round and UAB running back DeWayne McBride in the seventh round. Entering the second year in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, Cousins could be primed for an even better year but the Vikings have flexibility in case that doesn’t happen.
“We like where we are at the quarterback position,” Adofo-Mensah said. “But every option is open to us going forward. We’re just really excited about Kirk this year. The weapons we’ve added in free agency, the weapons we added in the draft [will help], and we’ll see what happens after that.”
