Injured veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins sounds committed to working toward remaining with the Minnesota Vikings even though he teased he could join head coach Bill Belichick elsewhere later this year.
“I sure hope so,” Cousins recently told Ryan Gaydos of Fox News Digital about possibly staying with Minnesota this offseason. “We’ll have to see how it all plays out. I think this league, if I’ve learned anything in my 12 years, is that a lot of curveballs get thrown, and it’s hard to predict what happens next month. This injury taught me that, too.”
Cousins turned 35 years old this past summer and entered the campaign on track to reach free agency this March. While he went down with a season-ending torn Achilles on Oct. 29, both he and Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made it known earlier this month they could continue their working relationship if they can “find an agreement that works for both sides.”
However, the situation may have changed once Belichick became available. The six-time Super Bowl champion head coach seems to be close to accepting that position with the Atlanta Falcons, and the Falcons are being linked in rumors with to-be free-agent quarterbacks such as Cousins.
Cousins, meanwhile, told CBS Sports’ Isabel Gonzalez this week that he is “not gonna turn down an opportunity to play with a future Hall of Fame coach” if it arises.
“We’ll see when we get to March, how everything shakes out,” Cousins continued during his chat with Gaydos. “But I think until then, it’s just waiting until March.”
It’s unknown if Belichick has a signal-caller other than Cousins in mind for 2024 assuming the 71-year-old is already preparing for how he’ll handle the quarterback room with Atlanta.
If Cousins would seriously consider leaving the Vikings to play under Belichick, Adofo-Mensah may have to spend more than originally thought to keep the four-time Pro Bowl selection in Minnesota for at least another couple of seasons.