{"id":79346,"date":"2024-01-11T01:34:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=79346"},"modified":"2024-01-11T01:34:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:34:26","slug":"jared-allen-pushes-kirk-cousins-ouster-vikings-reunion-with-former-quarterback-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/jared-allen-pushes-kirk-cousins-ouster-vikings-reunion-with-former-quarterback-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Jared Allen Pushes Kirk Cousins\u2019 Ouster, Vikings Reunion With Former Quarterback"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL playoffs begin this week without the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1711865943-e1704910167487.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins, Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the fourth time they have missed the playoffs in\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u2019 six-year tenure. And, at 7-10, it\u2019s also the third time they have had a losing record in that span.<\/p>\n<p>Facing a critical decision on Cousins, who is a free agent this offseason, former Vikings star\u00a0Jared Allen\u00a0is doubling down on\u00a0his stance of moving on. This time, though, he also has a suggestion on which direction the Vikings should look to to address the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou already heard what I said. Again, it was nothing personal,\u201d Allen said on the\u00a0\u201cChasin\u2019 It\u201d podcast\u00a0on January 9. \u201cWe have so many moving parts. \u2026 I don\u2019t know how you can pay a veteran quarterback, pay\u00a0[Justin] Jefferson\u00a0\u2013 you got\u00a0[Danielle] Hunter. You have a laundry list of guys that\u2019re going to have to get taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allen bolstered his argument around the rest of the division trending upward.<\/p>\n<p>Cousins\u2019\u00a0next contract\u00a0is projected to come in around $35-$40 million. The Vikings are projected to have around $39 million in cap space pending other moves,\u00a0per Spotrac.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there\u2019s some options out there to where I don\u2019t think you have to give up the farm for a 35-year-old,\u201d Allen said. \u201cYou look at the kid in\u00a0Cincinnati, who played his ass off this year. You could probably go get him at a relatively cheap price and go get a stud running back and run the ball 25-30 times a game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jake Browning\u00a0would be an interesting choice if for no other reason than his previous stint with the Vikings, which the Bengals passer acknowledged with a bit of shade after his new team\u2019s win over his old one in Week 15.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bengals QB Jake Browning yesterday during the game vs the Vikings:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should have never f**king cut me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf8: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bengals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Bengals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s0jcnyXziV\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/s0jcnyXziV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AryePulli\/status\/1736508385443360853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 17, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Browning threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns in that contest.<\/p>\n<p>An undrafted free agent out of Washington, Browning joined the Vikings in 2019 on a\u00a0three-year, $1.8 million contract. The Vikings waived him twice, most recently in September of 2020, and he has been with the Bengals on and off ever since.<\/p>\n<p>The 27-year-old passer completed 71.5% of his passes for 1,868 yards and 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions \u2013 a bugaboo for Vikings quarterbacks \u2013\u00a0in seven starts\u00a0this season.<\/p>\n<p>He also absorbed 21 sacks, another issue that\u00a0Vikings\u2019 passers\u00a0outside of Cousins had in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know I sound like one of these retired players \u2026 armchair quarterbacking it,\u201d Allen said. \u201cBut as a fan and someone who knows a little bit, I just think money could be better spent around the board and we can prepare for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Vikings Could Lose Pair of Aging Defensive Stars<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4662728\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4662728 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1756714189-e1704909243424.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4662728\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1756714189-e1704909243424.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Jefferson will earn $19.7 million next season under the fifth-year option of\u00a0his rookie contract. He has spoken candidly about not stressing about his situation given how he has performed in his career.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran defenders Hunter, 29, and\u00a0Harrison Smith, 34, have\u00a0spoken with a different undertone, though, and Allen believes they are critical.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re losing safety Harrison Smith at some point,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u00a0his contract situation is. But I think this is Year 11 or 12. So you gotta think about how do you replace that presence, which has been absolutely dominant. Like I said, if Danielle Hunter\u2019s not there, that\u2019s a massive hole you\u2019re gonna have to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hunter and Smith ranked\u00a035th\u00a0and\u00a054th, respectively, at their positions, per Pro Football Focus. The former logged the fourth most sacks in the NFL this past season, while the latter finished\u00a0second on the team in snaps\u00a0played.<\/p>\n<p>Allen is a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro as an edge defender, and a member of the\u00a0Vikings Ring of Honor, though he was not just bringing back or replacing aging defensive stars.<\/p>\n<h2>Jared Allen on Vikings \u2018Biggest Problems\u2019<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4662723\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4662723 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1860520282-e1704909007866.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Dalton Risner, Nick Mullens, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4662723\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1860520282-e1704909007866.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" \/><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIf you spend all your money on receiver and quarterback, who\u2019s protecting [the quarterback]? You still gotta bolster that offensive line,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThat\u2019s always been one of the biggest problems in Minnesota, is we\u2019ve never fully committed to the offensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/premium.pff.com\/nfl\/teams\/2023\/REGPO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Vikings offensive line<\/a>\u00a0finished as the second-best pass-blocking unit and the 10th-best in run-blocking. Four of the five starting linemen are already\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/minnesota-vikings\/yearly\/cap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">under contract for next season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Left guard\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/dalton-risner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dalton Risner<\/a>\u00a0is the fifth, though he could also return on a relatively cheap deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAside from drafting someone in April, the Vikings don\u2019t have a clear option at guard besides Risner,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/minnesota\/news\/minnesota-vikings-2024-free-agents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">wrote Anthony Bettin of CBS New Minnesota<\/a> on January 9. \u201cThat, coupled with the fact they\u2019ll be signing him to be a starter, means he\u2019ll be due for a pay raise, though probably not an egregious one considering the lack of league interest before the Vikings signed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It all sets the stage for what could be an eventful offseason for the Vikings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL playoffs begin this week without the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings. It\u2019s the fourth time they have missed the playoffs in\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u2019 six-year tenure. And, at 7-10, it\u2019s also&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}