Vikings General Manager Shares Statement, Team Plans After News Of Kirk Cousins Departure
Monday afternoon, news broke that Kirk Cousins had agreed to a massive deal with the Atlanta Falcons. While the deal won't be official until Wednesday, the news means the Minnesota Vikings are now officially (whether they wanted to or not) looking a new direction at quarterback.
In recent days, rumors had been going around that the Falcons would be willing to break the bank to bring Kirk to Atlanta. Similarly, people close to the Minnesota Vikings were starting to get the sense that Cousins would be departing.
After seeing the details of the deal - 4 years, $180 million, with $100 million guaranteed - it's pretty easy to see how the Vikings simply got outbid for a player getting into the twilight of his career and coming off a major injury.
In response to the news, Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shared a statement about the situation, highlighting what he felt was "significant and positive dialogue with Kirk and his representatives", that they were unable to reach a deal that worked with "the short and long-term visions of both Kirk and the Minnesota Vikings".
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Adofo-Mensah went on to say Kirk "Holds a special place in Vikings history" and thanked him for his leadership and contributions over his time with the team.
Looking forward, Adofo-Mensah assured fans that there is a plan. He said the team's approach "always includes layers of contingencies regarding the quarterback position". He said that the team will be moving forward with those plans to "continue building a roster that can compete for a championship".
The team currently has two quarterbacks on the roster - Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens. Both Kirk Cousins and Joshua Dobbs are unrestricted free agents. With Kirk departing for Atlanta and it being unlikely the team will bring Dobbs back, the team now has to figure out what to do moving forward.
It is highly unlikely the team will move forward with either Mullens or Hall, so the 2024 NFL Draft becomes very interesting for Vikings fans and becomes a crucial part of shaping the future of the team.
Minnesota Vikings 2024 Unrestricted Free Agents
Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper