Leave Kirk Cousins Alone | He is not the problem, but he is expensive
For whatever reason, everyone loves to hate on QB Kirk Cousins. Whenever the Minnesota Vikings lose all the blame is placed on Kirk Cousins. The wild card game against the Giants was just even more proof that he might be the most hated player in the NFL. It was 4th and 8 with the game on the line, Kirk Cousins drops back to pass and throws a check-down to put an end to the Viking’s season. Look at this picture, if you can watch a video of that play, please watch it.
Nobody was open, Dexter Lawrence was pushing Ezra Cleveland back like a bag of feathers, what was he supposed to do? A couple more seconds and KJ Osborn would have been open in the middle of the field. With the time Kirk was given in the pocket, he at least gave TJ Hockenson a chance of breaking a tackle and possibly getting the first down. Would you have rather him take a sack? I don’t understand why this backyard BBQ Dad that Kirk Cousins is, receives so much hate around the league.
Everyone wants to talk about how bad Kirk Cousins is. Nobody wants to talk about how Kirk Cousins is the most-hit QB in the league in the past three seasons. Or how about how he has dealt with bottom-tier defenses for the past three years? Or what about having a different OC every year he has been a Viking? Here’s a look at the pressure stats over the past 3 years:
2020
Pressure % 30.25 4th
Sack- 39 6th
Hits Taken- 78 1st
2021
Pressure % 26.6 7th
Sacks- 28 25th
Hits Taken- 65 3rd
2022
Pressure % 23.7 9th
Sacks- 46 3rd
Hits Taken- 84 1st
Now how about those defenses huh, 29th overall in 2020, 24th in 2021, and 28th in 2022. Now I beg someone to show me a QB who has dealt with this much pressure and has had this bad of defenses and has still managed to put up Top 10 numbers as Kirk Cousins has over the past three seasons.
All this man does is sit back in the pocket, get hit, and deliver with accuracy. People were ragging on him for not delivering in big moments in 2021 so what did he do in 2022, just tied for 2nd in the NFL with 13 game-winning drives. That’s tied with Josh Allen, and more than names like Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady. Like him or hate him, praise him or rag on him, Kirk Cousins has proven he is a Top 10 QB in the NFL.
I put Kirk Cousins on the trade cut/list in my last article so let me clarify. I am a supporter and fan of Kirk Cousins; I think he’s a good QB and a big reason why the team was 13-4.
However, given the current state of our team, with the cap situation and the positions that need upgrading, I don’t see the reason to continue giving him extensions. He has a $36,250,000 Cap hit this year which means he will need a new deal by the end of next season. I’d think he’d want a raise to around $40-45 million a year for his next contract by the way he’ll be 36 by 2024. Do you know who else needs new deals by the end of 2024? Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson, and Danielle Hunter, so who do you pay? My only goal and wish are to see the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl, and right now we are not close and Kirk Cousins is sucking up a big chunk of cap space that we need to improve this team. Why not explore the trade market for Kirk Cousins and see if we can get any draft picks in return? At the very least do not extend him and let him play out his contract.
