It is looking more and more like Kirk Cousins or bust for the Minnesota Vikings at QB in 2024, though a dark horse candidate to assume control of Kevin O’Connell’s offense has emerged over the past month.

The Cleveland Browns have clinched an AFC playoff berth on the strength of a four-game win streak captained by resurgent quarterback Joe Flacco, who has thrown for 300 yards in four consecutive games. Before signing with the Browns, Flacco reached out to the Vikings and expressed his interest in joining the franchise following Cousins’ achilles injury. However, Minnesota rebuffed the quarterback, which has since proved a considerable mistake.

Flacco is bound for free agency in March and has already announced his intention to play for two more years. The issue, however, is that the Browns still owe currently injured quarterback Deshaun Watson the salary on the final three years of his fully-guaranteed $230 million contract. As such, it is unlikely Flacco will be back in Cleveland next season unless the Browns mount a Super Bowl run over the next month.

Flacco is also presumably interested in an opportunity to start next year, which the Browns probably can’t offer him. The Vikings, however, will be able to do so if they don’t bring Cousins back in 2024.

Minnesota should also be an attractive option for any free agent QB in demand, including Flacco, due to the pass-catching corps of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson playing under O’Connell’s high-powered offensive system.

Joe Flacco Expressed Serious Interest in Joining Vikings Before Signing with Browns

Darren Wolfson of KSTP reported on December 28 that Flacco reached out to the Vikings two months prior about the open quarterback position. Minnesota, however, did not share his enthusiasm for a joint venture.

“He wanted to be here,” Wolfson wrote on X. “Vikings received that message before October 29 turned into October 30. They weren’t interested.”

Minnesota instead opted to trade a late-round pick swap to the Arizona Cardinals (the Vikings’ 2024 sixth-rounder for the Cardinals’ 2024 seventh-rounder) in order to acquire quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Dobbs ultimately earned a 2-2 record before the Vikings benched him for Nick Mullens. Mullens went 0-2 and will watch from the sideline as rookie QB Jaren Hall makes the second start of his career during a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco Offer Vikings Different Advantages in 2024

Cousins is the more likely choice for the Vikings in 2024 when compared to Flacco for several reasons.

First, he has six years of experience in Minnesota and has the outspoken support of Jefferson. Cousins was playing the best football of his career at 35 years old during his second season under O’Connell, leading the NFL with 18 touchdown passes at the time of his injury.

Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler, has also been a considerably better and more relevant quarterback than Flacco over the last several years. However, Flacco has been among the elite QBs in the league over the past month and isn’t coming off of a serious injury, as Cousins will be in 2024. Flacco has completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions across five games played, per Pro Football Reference.

The QB also has a Super Bowl MVP (2012) on his resumé from his time with the Baltimore Ravens and played nearly perennially in the postseason over his first seven NFL campaigns, making him a far more accomplished playoff quarterback than Cousins.

Flacco is also likely to cost the Vikings considerably less than Cousins if Minnesota decides to go that route. Flacco signed a $120.6 million deal with the Ravens in March 2013, following his Super Bowl win, which was the richest contract in league history at the time. However, he signed with the Browns on just a $2.5 million deal in 2023.

While Flacco is certain to demand more in free agency, he isn’t likely to approach the $35 million Cousins earned from the Vikings in 2023. Cousins may not command that much in annual salary moving forward, but he’s likely to carry more earning power into 2024 than Flacco.