Monday Morning Mailbag: Where Do the Vikings Go From Here?

[Viktor]

I think it is time to move on from Kirk Cousins. He has the arm and can make the throws, but it appears the game is too fast for him. It shows in his interceptions, and his inability to throw the ball away to avoid the sack and his fumbles. It has become glaringly obvious that there are times he doesn't see and react to what he should. Yes, the offensive line has struggled in pass protection, but the turnovers are all his. His sacks, safeties, fumbles and interceptions have cost us too many games. The Vikings need to draft a QB, perhaps someone like NDSU's Trey Lance. I would hate to lose Coach Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman because the owners get tired waiting for wins that Cousins can't deliver. I have been a fan since 1961. I am 72, and I would like to see a Super Bowl championship just once before I go.


— Jerry Carrier in Lakeville, Minnesota


Thanks for the email, Jerry, and your longtime support of the franchise. I touched on this above, and in this breakdown of Cousins and the offense after the game, but you raise a fair question.


If Cousins continues to struggle for the rest of the season, what does that mean for his future in Minnesota?


Fresh off a Pro-Bowl season in 2019, the Vikings and Cousins agreed on a multi-year extension in March. The deal added two seasons onto his current three-year deal, meaning he is under contract until the end of the 2022 season.


The hope inside the organization was that Cousins would continue to thrive in a scheme that amplified his strengths: play-action and rollout passes built around a strong running game.


But through six games, Cousins is making mistakes that just leave you puzzled. His first interception Sunday — on the first throw of the game — was a throw Cousins said he might have made as a rookie in 2012, but shouldn't have in his 94th career start.


There was plenty of buzz on social media if the Vikings would bench Cousins at halftime. They did not, and he played better in the second half following his three first-half interceptions.


But after the game, Cousins seemed to note that he knows he needs to step up his game, or else he won't have earned his starting spot on the field.


"You just have to play well in this business," Cousins said. "And the reality is if the pace that I'm on in terms of the interceptions were to continue, I won't finish the season, you know what I mean."


Depending on how the Vikings fare the rest of this season — and what draft pick they end up with — perhaps the quarterback position is an area they look at in the offseason. That's a thought that wasn't on anybody's radar entering the 2020 season.