If you ask Jared Allen what the Vikings should do at quarterback, he’ll tell you that Minnesota needs to move on from Kirk Cousins and go all in on investing in the long-term future of the franchise.
Allen, who is on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot after his illustrious career ended with 136 sacks, referred to the Vikings, the team he played six seasons for from 2008 to 2013, as “we” and suggested to Trey Wingo at The 33rd Team that re-signing Cousins would make more sense if the Vikings didn’t have so many holes on the roster.
“It was nothing personal, but I just don’t know. It would be one thing if we were coming off an insanely-good season. Right now, the Packers are looking like they’re coming on strong with a young team, the Bears are managing to be .500 with inaccurate play at that quarterback position. We have so many moving parts. I don’t know how you can sit there and pay a veteran quarterback, pay (Justin) Jefferson, you got (Danielle) Hunter, you got a laundry list of guys that are going to have to get taken care of,” Allen said.
“But yeah, you’re in a conundrum where you got one of the best receivers in the league, do you want to bring in a new quarterback? But It think there’s some options out there to where I don’t think you have to give the farm away for a 35-year-old because I mean, at the end of the day, even if Kirk comes back and plays absolutely lights out he’s only got three years left in him. Unless you win a Super Bowl, it’s all for naught anyway.”
Allen brainstormed a Jake Browning reunion with the Vikings.
“You look at the kid in Cincinnati who played his ass off this year and you could probably go get him at a relatively cheap price,” Allen said.
Browning is an “exclusive rights restricted free agent,” meaning Browning can’t sign with another team if the Bengals simply extend him a qualifying offer. With that being a likelihood, the Vikings would need to make a trade to get him.
Whether it’s Browning or a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, Allen wants to see his former team pivot to the future.
“We’re at that pivotal point to where you just gotta find who’s going to be the future and go all in on that and go that route. That’s what I would like to see them go,” Allen explained. “I just think money could be better spent around the board and we could prepare for the future.”
