Barring anything unexpected Minnesota will be going with Kirk Cousins at quarterback next season.
Cousins is one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but he might never enter into the upper-echelon of QBs.
PFF has the Vikings’ situation clocked at about that. The outlet tabbed Minnesota as a team in the medium tier of quarterback need. Pro Football Focus referred to this as a starter for the near-term is set, but keep your eyes open.
“The difference between Kirk Cousins in the first three quarters versus the fourth quarter last season was staggering. Through the first three quarters of action in 2020, Cousins ranked 19th in passing grade and 27th in turnover-worthy play rate. In the fourth quarter, Cousins was first in passing grade and second in turnover-worthy play rate. And the latter production came mostly in instances where the game was already out of reach.”
With Cousins, it can be confusing. There are plenty of statistics to represent the case for Cousins being one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL and good enough to be the Vikings’ starter for the future. There are also numbers, like the ones PFF showed above, that prove Cousins is simply too inconsistent. I used to be in the group that thought Cousins was the answer, but now I’m not so sure. He’s had so many inconsistent stints throughout his career, that there’s an argument to be made that he doesn’t have the high ceiling that a player like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady possesses.
