With all the quarterback movement already dominating headlines this offseason one team is firmly committed to their current starting quarterback – the Minnesota Vikings.
According to Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer the team is committed to Cousins moving forward, despite rumors that the team may be interested in exploring other options under center during the offseason.
“Kirk’s our guy,” Zimmer said, according to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “You know, he had a terrific year this year. We were fourth in the league on offense. We have to get better on defense — we had a lot of injuries and young guys — that’s my job to get it fixed.”
Zimmer stating the team’s belief and commitment in Cousins says a lot, as the report notes that Zimmer has often times been “vague and cantankerous” when discussing the team’s franchise quarterback.
“Honestly, I just signed the extension last offseason and it really doesn’t kick in ’til this coming year,” Cousins said, during a recent interview with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “It’s a two-year deal. Those two years begin with 2021. . . . I think it’s more about going out there next season and the year after that and playing at a high enough level that would justify being able to do another deal beyond that. That’s really where my focus is. As I said earlier, would like to be a Viking for the remainder of my career. I’ve got to play well enough to make that happen.”
Cousins stated that he wants to play for the Vikings for a long time.
“I want to be with the Vikings for as long as they’ll have me and as long as I can play football,” Cousins said. “As far as how long I play, it’s so year to year. We’ve seen so much change happen in this league when you just look back a year ago to now. I’m sure a year from now will be no different. Tom Brady, Drew Brees have set the bar so high playing into their early 40s. I don’t know that I want to play that long, but I do think that to be able to play into your late 30s and to play long enough for my two young boys — I’ve got two boys, Cooper and Turner. They’re only three and almost two. I’d like to play long enough where they can come to practice, watch me play, and really remember it and appreciate it. I got a few more years to be able to do that.”
