Kirk Cousins Contemplates His Future With the Vikings as Russell Wilson Faces Free Agent Danger Despite a $245 Million Mega Contract

The week 8 win over the Green Bay Packers became a dark day for the Minnesota Vikings as they lost their star quarterback Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury. Now, Cousins is expected to turn a free agent in March and the Vikings might look for other healthy options to add to their arsenal, entering Russell Wilson into the conversation. The Denver Broncos QB went through many ups and downs recently and has been in the spotlight quite a bit.

This has resulted in some massive speculations surrounding the Vikings and the Broncos. Many have anticipated a deal to surface between the two that might catch the NFL realm off guard. Per this, Russell Wilson might finally be able to detach himself from a team that benched him. After all, the Broncos decided to rest the football player for the remaining season. And even going into the 2024 season, Wilson’s position as a starter is still not clear which has brought the $245 million contract under limelight.

Russell Wilson and the Minnesota Vikings are in for a change 

An article from Vikingswire suggested that the Minnesota Vikings might be giving serious thought to finding a new QB for the team. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN first instigated the speculations regarding the potential trade. However, there are a lot of complications that might come in the Vikings’ way if this potential trade centers around Russell Wilson as their next QB.

For starters, his experience will demand a big portion of the contract, almost similar to the one he was getting at the Denver team. The very speculative reason for his entry into benched players was sighted to be the huge contract of the player and the related factor concerning the full amount to be paid despite any injury to him.

Though both Wilson and Cousins are of the same age, drafting a new QB might be detrimental to the Vikings’ future mainly because he is not as familiar with the Vikings as Cousins. Secondly, his financial compensation might become a burden to the Vikings. Lastly, if they do spend a lot of money to hire Wilson, the Vikings might as well give second thoughts on hiring a new quarterback altogether and hone him per their requirement.

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Everything about Wilson going to the Vikings seems jolly, till we try to dissect the situation. Another issue though arises around the future of Kirk Cousins in front of him after a difficult season.

What’s next for Kirk Cousins?

Sometime earlier, the Vikings HC mentioned that though Kirk Cousins’ contract is ending with the Vikings at the end of this season, the doors to the Vikings are still open to him. However, the QB staying with Minnesota is still speculation at this point. The Atlanta Falcons are making huge changes to their roster as they conducted a second interview with Bill Belichick. In the same spirit, they are also looking for the right offensive weapons to fit their roster, and maybe Cousins is the right choice.

At the same time, Cousins’ injury might take a while to heal. Moreover, the Vikings haven’t offered the QB a contract extension, and for now, no one is expecting such news. Vikings’ last year’s 13-4 record states just how crucial Cousins is to their offense and hiring a new QB might be counterproductive for the flailing franchise.

With fresh prospects like Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. on the rise, it makes less and less sense for the Vikings to hire Russell Wilson at this point. It may be less hassle to keep Kirk Cousins close because hiring a new QB will result in extra training time and drained resources. As for Wilson, he might take a look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons for a potential transfer.

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