{"id":80859,"date":"2024-01-16T00:48:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T00:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=80859"},"modified":"2024-01-16T00:48:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T00:48:01","slug":"analyst-predicts-kirk-cousins-spurns-vikings-teams-up-with-1st-year-hc-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/analyst-predicts-kirk-cousins-spurns-vikings-teams-up-with-1st-year-hc-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyst Predicts Kirk Cousins Spurns Vikings, Teams Up With 1st-Year HC"},"content":{"rendered":"

All eyes could be on\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0this offseason.<\/p>\n

\"Kirk<\/p>\n

That attention could also spell bad news for Vikings general manager\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah\u2019s hopes of bringing the four-time Pro Bowler back on a new deal for 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Kirk Cousins, his next destination will have less to do with money and more with the opportunity to win games and pursue championships, be it with the Minnesota Vikings or elsewhere,\u201d\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Erik Beaston wrote\u00a0on January 14. \u201cThere are any number of teams that could use a quarterback of his ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrediction: Cousins signs a deal with\u00a0New England\u00a0in the three-year range.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jared Allen Pushes Kirk Cousins\u2019 Ouster, Vikings Reunion With Former Quarterback<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Patriots won out among a list of five teams that Beaston listed as potential suitors for Cousins, including his former team the\u00a0Washington Commanders.<\/p>\n

New England is entering a new era with former linebacker\u00a0Jerod Mayo\u00a0moving up from his position as linebackers coach to take over the head coaching job left vacant with\u00a0Bill Belichick\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n

Cousins, 35, is\u00a0coming off a torn Achilles and will be 36 years old by the start of next season.<\/p>\n

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Intends to Keep Kirk Cousins With Vikings<\/h2>\n

\"Kwesi<\/h2>\n

He hits free agency after completing a\u00a0one-year, $35 million contract. But he remains on the books for next season for $28.5 million due to void years on previous deals,\u00a0per Spotrac.<\/p>\n

That means Minnesota will be paying him one way or another. It would make sense for them to pay him to play for them rather than the alternative. And that is what Adofo-Mensah is aiming to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said that [he wanted Cousins back],\u201d Adofo-Mensah said\u00a0via the team\u00a0on January 10. \u201cI\u2019ve been pretty consistent with that. Kirk the player is somebody that we saw what he does to this team. I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it\u2019s the most important position in sports. \u2026 It\u2019s certainly my intention to have him back here.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Adofo-Mensah was also clear that he would make the best decision for the Vikings.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, taking a step back in the short term isn\u2019t a big deal if you don\u2019t think you\u2019re actually close to [remaining cometive],\u201d Adofo-Mensah said. \u201cAnd those are always the conversations we try and have and go about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings also have to make decisions on several defensive free agents and veterans including\u00a0Danielle Hunter\u00a0and\u00a0Harrison Smith.<\/p>\n

Justin Jefferson\u2019s contract\u00a0situation also looms.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Could Kirk Cousins Team Up With Bill Belichick in Atlanta?<\/h2>\n

\"Bill<\/h2>\n

Among the five teams Beaston floated as potential threats to poach Cousins in free agency \u2013 New England, Washington, the\u00a0Atlanta Falcons,\u00a0New York Giants, and\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0\u2013 he notes the Steelers situation looks like the best from the outside.<\/p>\n

But he adds that it would be against the typical way of operating to bring the presumably high-priced veteran. Cousins is\u00a0expected to command\u00a0a deal worth up to $40 million annually.<\/p>\n

Atlanta, however, could be the team to monitor, especially considering their coaching search.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt still looks like Atlanta, depending on who the Falcons\u2019 next coach is, could be Cousins\u2019 next team,\u201d\u00a0Pioneer Press columnist Charley Walters wrote\u00a0on January 13. \u201cHis wife Julie is from there and that\u2019s where they were married and where they spend time in the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their coach could be Belichick. After all of his success over the years and struggles with a young passer in recent seasons, he could prefer a veteran passer.<\/p>\n

There could also be mutual interest in a union,\u00a0per ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler\u00a0on January 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Falcons have decent young players but are without a decent quarterback,\u201d Walters wrote. And owner Arthur Blank is 81 and eager for a contender after a 7-10 season and missing the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cousins has said he isn\u2019t as concerned with money as he is with a chance to win. No active coach has led their team to more wins \u2013\u00a0regular season,\u00a0playoffs, and\u00a0Super Bowls\u00a0\u2013 than Belichick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All eyes could be on\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0this offseason. That attention could also spell bad news for Vikings general manager\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah\u2019s hopes of bringing the four-time Pro Bowler… <\/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-80859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80859","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=80859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80859\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}