If the Vikings had stayed healthy at quarterback, could they have gone into Dallas and destroyed the Cowboys in the playoffs like the Packers did on Sunday?
Green Bay’s demolition of Dallas in Big D served as warning to every other team in the playoffs and should strike fear into NFC North foes because the youngest team in the NFL may have found another generational talent at quarterback that could fuel years of high-end results.
The Packers surging into the playoffs coupled with the Lions developing into one of the best teams in the league is an alarming development for the Vikings, who have been in “competitive rebuild” mode for two seasons and now face a pivotal point and they cannot afford to make a wrong turn.
Before Kirk Cousins suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Week 8 against the Packers, the Vikings were humming. They had won three straight to get back to .500 at 4-4 after losing four of five games to start the season. They won two more games with Josh Dobbs and then the magic ran out as they went from 6-4 to 7-10.
As the Vikings crumbled, the Lions pulled away to win the North for the first time since 1993 and the Packers improved by leaps and bounds, going from 2-5 to 9-8 behind elite performances by quarterback Jordan Love.
Will the Vikings look at everything going great for the Lions and Packers and wonder if they simply have too much to overcome in 2024 to justify bringing back Cousins?
The Vikings really do have a lot to consider…
- How will Cousins, at age 36, return from an Achilles injury?
- Will tight end T.J. Hockenson be the same post ACL/MCL surgery?
- Will Hockenson be ready to play at the start of the season?
- Will Danielle Hunter re-sign or leave via free agency?
- With or without Hunter, how will they generate a pass rush?
- Are they comfortable with their cornerbacks? (Byron Murphy, Akayleb Evans, Mehki Blackmon, Andrew Booth Jr.)
- Can they improve their 29th-ranked running game?
- Who is going to start at left guard? Dalton Risner is a free agent.
Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw are likely going to need new contracts. Hunter too if they want to bring him back. If Jefferson becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, that’s at least $33 million annually. If Darrisaw is paid like a top left tackle, that’s up to $25 million per year. And if Hunter wants to be paid like one of the elite edge rushers, that’s another $25 million potentially.
If Cousins costs $35m+ per year the Vikings can’t realistically bring everyone back unless they push money down the road to roam freely in 2024 before suffering in cap hell for years to come. Considering they’re just now exiting cap hell, do they really want to go there again so soon?
The point of all of this is to say that the Vikings are at a disadvantage compared to the rising Lions, Packers and even the Bears. Not only does Minnesota’s roster have more holes, the Vikings also have less cap space when free agency begins in March.
According to OverTheCap, the Vikings have about $26.6 million cap space, which is 15th most the NFL. The Lions have the sixth-most money to spend at approximately $59.3 million and the Bears have the eighth most at $48.5 million. Green Bay only has about $8 million, but they’re the youngest team in the league with fewer holes to fill.
The Bears also own the first and ninth picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they could be on the fast track to becoming relevant again in the division and conference.
“Where is the advantage that the Vikings have if they bring back Kirk Cousins?” asked Matthew Coller on his Sunday night Purple Insider podcast. “There is no answer, in my opinion, that involves bringing back Kirk Cousins. The only way to get somewhere in this division for the Vikings, is to draft a quarterback now and try to plot out for 2025 to be your year to compete with these teams again. Because next year, it’s just not very likely to happen.”
Is it all just too much to overcome to justify bringing back Cousins?
