Sports
Will Kirk Cousins Return and Is He the Best Vikings Option?
With the news breaking on Monday that the Falcons are going to release Kirk Cousins at the start of free agency on March 11, the speculation intensified on Cousins’ next NFL destination.
How realistic is it to expect the 37-year-old Cousins to return to the Vikings, where he was a six-year starter and had three of his four Pro Bowl seasons?
Cousins’ Price and Timeline Will Decide Whether a Reunion Even Makes Sense
The Vikings reinforced at the Combine this week that although they still believe in J.J. McCarthy’s potential to be their franchise quarterback, they are “exploring all possibilities and casting a wide net,” according to Executive V.P of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski.
I think the Cousins option makes sense and seems more likely than their other top options which could include signing Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Marcus Mariota, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo or Malik Willis among other candidates in free agency or trading for Mac Jones, Anthony Richardson or Derek Carr (and perhaps Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa could hit the open market if they’re released by the Cardinals and Dolphins, respectively).
Cousins is coming off a strong finish to the 2025 season for Atlanta, in which he won his last four starts and was 5-3 as the starter over the season. He threw seven TD passes with only two interceptions in those final four games.
His uneven play in 2024 for the Falcons (when he was benched for Michael Penix) was due in large part to a mid-season injury to his throwing shoulder and elbow, and he was also coming off the torn Achilles sustained in Week 8 of 2023 while still with the Vikings.
I’m a bit surprised his former Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski—now the Falcons’ new head coach—did not want to keep Cousins as the starter while Penix works his way back from a mid-season torn ACL (and Penix had plenty of other injuries in his college career).
Stefanski and Cousins worked together in 2019 when Cousins made the Pro Bowl and the Vikings last won a playoff game (in New Orleans with a fine performance from Cousins, who led the winning overtime drive).
Cousins will cost Atlanta $35 million in dead money against the salary cap, whether they take the full hit this year or spread it over two years using a post-June 1 release designation. It seems like a mistake not keep him with his affordable $27.5 million base salary for 2026.
Cousins is a smart QB who knows the Vikings’ offense well, having worked with Kevin O’Connell for two seasons. Included was the 13-win season in 2022 when he threw for 4,547 yards and 29 TDs (92.5 passer rating). He was off to a strong start in 2023 with a 103.8 passer rating and 18 TDs (only five picks) before the Achilles injury.
The learning curve would be a non-factor, and the main receiving targets from Cousins’ last year in Minnesota are still here—Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and, most likely, T.J. Hockenson. Cousins was the QB who delivered the ball to Jefferson in his Offensive Player of the Year season in 2022, when he led the league with 128 catches and 1,809 yards (plus eight TDs) compared to last season, when Jefferson dipped to 84 receptions, 1,048 yards, and only two TDs while working with McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer.
Cousins was also very happy living in Minnesota and preferred to stay with the Vikings before the split, which was motivated by the Vikings’ desire to have a young QB on a cap-friendly rookie contract, which is the case with McCarthy. It would be a fairly easy transition for Cousins, his wife, Julie, and their two young sons, who could return to the school they previously attended.
It’s clear Cousins wants to be a starter and believes he deserves it. Would he want to go to Pittsburgh if Rodgers leaves the Steelers and has to compete again with a first-round rookie, as he did with Penix in Atlanta?
Cleveland is a possibility, but the Browns are a quarterback graveyard lately. Las Vegas will almost surely be drafting Fernando Mendoza first overall. The Jets—ugh. Arizona and Miami are possible destinations if they dump their starters. In all those cases, Cousins would have to learn a new offense.
Cousins has always been astute in maximizing his contracts, including the $100 million in guaranteed money from his two years in Atlanta. Perhaps it’s time for him to take a relative bargain of a one-year deal as Jones did in Indianapolis and Rodgers did in Pittsburgh, with both QBs making $14 million plus incentives.
Perhaps a one-year, $20 million deal plus big incentives tied to wins and playoff success could get it done with Cousins and the Vikings should have the cap room to do such a deal after they restructure several contracts (starting with Justin Jefferson’s) and release several players, such as too often injured center Ryan Kelly.
And then have an open competition between McCarthy and Cousins, who has been the No. 2 QB in Washington early in his career and in Atlanta when Penix stepped in. I think O’Connell would trust Cousins to be supportive of McCarthy if he doesn’t beat him out. And it’s obvious that McCarthy can get hurt, which would open the door for Cousins if he didn’t win the starting job.
Rodgers is somewhat intriguing after he expressed interest in signing with the Vikings last season and has a good relationship with O’Connell. He’s not the MVP player he was in Green Bay, but he did win 10 games last season with a respectable 94.8 passer rating. But Cousins is five years younger and knows the Vikings’ offense, whereas Rodgers would have to learn a new system and may be content to stay with the Steelers after they hired his former Packers coach, Mike McCarthy.
It’s pretty clear Daniel Jones will stay in Indy after a fine season before his Achilles injury (8-5 record, 100.2 passer rating).
I like Mac Jones as a 27-year-old with a $2 million contract for 2026 who kept the 49ers in the playoff hunt (5-3, 97.4 passer rating) last season when Brock Purdy was injured. The Vikings have a similar system to the 49ers, which helped Sam Darnold when he came from San Francisco to the Vikings in 2024.
But Jones is under contract for one more year, so why would the 49ers trade him when he’s a top-quality backup to Purdy, who has been injury-prone unless a team gives the Niners at least a third-round pick (and it may take more since the 49ers may get a third-round compensatory pick if Jones leaves in 2027 free agency with a sizable deal).
The Vikings need to keep their draft picks and build up the young talent on the team after a shaky recent draft history. So I wouldn’t recommend trading a fairly high pick for a quarterback who may wind up as the backup, especially when there will be solid free-agent options to sign.
In considering all the possibilities, I circle back to Cousins as making the most sense for the Vikings as a quality veteran QB to compete with McCarthy and be a much better No. 2 than Wentz or Brosmer were last season if McCarthy wins the job.
What matters most at the Combine for teams?
I spent many late February/early March weeks at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis during my Vikings and Titans years, and during my time at my agent firm, IFA.
It was a long week, but a very important event on the pre-draft and pre-free agency calendar.
Fans focus on the workouts of top college players (many of whom don’t work out as they wait for their March Pro Day at their college).
NFL teams certainly pay attention to the workouts, but in reality, it’s fourth on the priority list for team execs at the Combine. The three things that are significantly more important are the physicals, the interviews, and the contract discussions with agents who also come to Indy.
The physicals are the first chance for team doctors and athletic trainers to examine players and check their recoveries if they were injured last season. The colleges do not paint a true picture of players’ health, so the physicals at the Combine and, in many cases, the re-checks in April on player visits to team facilities are critical in the evaluation process.
Interviews with the players at the Combine allow the GM, coaches, and scouts to get to know players, ask them questions about their family and personal lives, and their football careers, and have them diagram plays and coverages to get a feel for their football smarts. These interviews can make a difference when teams have players graded the same and have to make a choice.
I have trained many of my agent firm’s rookies on interview techniques before the Combine, and I always impress upon them how important it is to make a good impression.
Then there are numerous meetings between team execs and agents of their players to discuss contract restructures or extensions. There are also discussions with agents on contract parameters for potential free agents, which the Vikings are surely having this week as they seek a veteran QB, a new starting center, and help at other positions such as corner and safety.
These discussions are technically tampering since they’re not taking place before the “legal tampering period” begins on March 11. But that is too late to start negotiating, and every team is doing so while keeping these conversations quiet and out of the media.
So you can tune in to the “underwear Olympics,” as the Combine has been called, but know the endless workouts on NFL Network are not a top priority for NFL GMs and other team execs in Indianapolis this week.
