Man, this stinks. That’s the prevailing sentiment for Vikings fans after watching Kirk Cousins’ torn Achilles in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win. The Vikings and Cousins were on an absolute roll after shocking the 49ers and dominating the Packers in Lambeau. Even without All Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, Cousins was putting on a show. He was legitimately playing the best football of his career. All that momentum came to a crashing halt when it became clear that Cousins’ season is over. Now Kevin O’Connell is going to be faced with the biggest obstacle he’s had to deal with in his early head coaching tenure.
In many ways, this was considered both a rebuilding season but also a last hurrah of sorts for this version of the Vikings. Kirk Cousins is on the last year of his deal and the Minnesota didn’t have the ability to franchise him. This was almost certainly going to be his last season in purple and gold, barring a shocking deep playoff run. The Vikings front office was bracing to move in a different direction at quarterback this offseason. Even with that inevitability, it wasn’t supposed to end like this. Now the Vikings, back in the playoff picture after winning three of their last four, have to answer an enormous question and quickly. How do they go about replacing Kirk Cousins for the remainder of the season?
The Aftermath of Kirk Cousins Torn Achilles
Trading for a Quarterback is not a Viable Solution
There are going to be plenty of pundits clamoring for the Vikings to trade for a quarterback this week. The stark reality of quarterbacks in the NFL is that there just aren’t teams willing to trade good ones away, especially midseason. Looking at the best quarterbacks on the market, nobody out there would seriously move the needle on Minnesota’s projections.
Trade Option #1: Ryan Tannehill
Ryan Tannehill feels like the most readily available option on the market. After Will Levis’ debut and given their record, the Titans will likely go with Levis moving forward. That leaves Tannehill without a job when he recovers from the injury that’s kept him out. It likely wouldn’t take much draft capital to acquire him, but Minnesota would have to pay about ~$15M in remaining salary. For a team that’s already cap-strapped with a lot of dead money next season, that’s probably too much money. On top of that, Tannehill just hasn’t been very effective. It would likely take at least 2-3 weeks to get him healed up and knowledgeable enough of the playbook. Even then, the Vikings would still have the lesser quarterback in the majority of their remaining matchups. It just doesn’t make much sense to go the journeyman route here.
Trade Option #2: Kyler Murray?
Kyler Murray is going to be the name with the most intrigue potentially on the market this week. The Cardinals curiously haven’t activated him yet, despite admissions that he’s fully healthy. If a team believes that Murray can be the guy, he’s under contract for the foreseeable future. So this option wouldn’t amount to a rental, as is the case with Tannehill. However, the money he’s making is insane for a quarterback with questionable work ethic and production.
It may not take much draft capital to land Murray if he is available, as the Cardinals would likely just be trying to get rid of the contract. However, it doesn’t make sense for Minnesota’s front office to take such a big gamble. If they swing and miss on Murray, that would likely be the end of the regime’s tenure. Murray hasn’t shown enough to be confident in him as a franchise quarterback.
Jaren Hall isn’t Kirk Cousins, But At Least Knows the Offense
The reality is, that even with Kirk Cousins the Vikings weren’t considered serious Super Bowl contenders. So then why would they trade valuable draft assets to go get someone that’s a downgrade from Cousins? Given that they will be looking at a retooling next offseason with Cousins set for free agency, giving up draft picks to maybe compete for 9-10 wins just doesn’t make any sense for the organization.
It’s not going to stir the hearts of many Vikings faithful, but Jaren Hall is Minnesota’s best option moving forward. He didn’t play particularly well when he came into the game, but he showed poise in a tough situation. The fact that Hall was able to step up in the pocket and complete a big third down to Hockenson that essentially sealed the game after getting strip-sacked the previous possession, was telling. He commanded the huddle well and showed some glimpses during the preseason of solid play. At a minimum, he knows the playbook!
The fact is that if Hall doesn’t come in and set the NFL on fire, the Vikings season is pretty much doomed. Is that likely to happen? No, but there’s no downside in figuring out if the kid can play. Even the slightest chance that they get lucky and find the 2024 version of Brock Purdy would outweigh the benefit of bringing in a veteran quarterback to simply cap out as a middling Wild Card team. It doesn’t sound like a great option for a team and fanbase looking for hope. The fact is, there isn’t a great option out there, but Hall’s development would at least be something to watch for the remainder of the season.
Main Photo: Wm. Glasheen – USA Today Sports
