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The Minnesota Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft to replace Kirk Cousins, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons one month earlier. McCarthy is expected to be the Vikings' starting quarterback in 2025, but they still don't have a viable backup on the roster.
Cousins was benched for 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix, Jr. last year, and wants to get out of Atlanta. A reunion in Minnesota could make sense for many reasons. Former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini shared on FS1's "First Things First" that Cousins could provide the perfect insurance for McCarthy.
“I would imagine they’re going to go and get a backup that they feel could win a bunch of games, should something happen to J.J. McCarthy," Mangini said on Tuesday.
It's hard to predict what a trade would look like for Cousins. He signed a four-year, $180 million deal last year with $100 million guaranteed. There's a $40 million cap hit for the 2025 season, and Atlanta has said they're comfortable keeping Cousins as a backup.
But if the Vikings could make the move work and have the Falcons take on most of the financial burden, it could give Minnesota a perfect backup. Cousins played great in his season-and-a-half as the Vikings' starting quarterback and knows the offense as well as anyone. He's also going to be one year further removed from his Achilles tear suffered in October 2023.
Cousins could keep the Vikings offense functioning at a high level if he were forced to play. And as the Vikings saw when he went down in 2023, having an insurance policy at quarterback can be the difference between making the playoffs and finishing 7-10.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Eric Mangini predicts a reunion between Kirk Cousins and the Vikings
Continue reading...
Cousins was benched for 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix, Jr. last year, and wants to get out of Atlanta. A reunion in Minnesota could make sense for many reasons. Former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini shared on FS1's "First Things First" that Cousins could provide the perfect insurance for McCarthy.
“I would imagine they’re going to go and get a backup that they feel could win a bunch of games, should something happen to J.J. McCarthy," Mangini said on Tuesday.
It's hard to predict what a trade would look like for Cousins. He signed a four-year, $180 million deal last year with $100 million guaranteed. There's a $40 million cap hit for the 2025 season, and Atlanta has said they're comfortable keeping Cousins as a backup.
But if the Vikings could make the move work and have the Falcons take on most of the financial burden, it could give Minnesota a perfect backup. Cousins played great in his season-and-a-half as the Vikings' starting quarterback and knows the offense as well as anyone. He's also going to be one year further removed from his Achilles tear suffered in October 2023.
Cousins could keep the Vikings offense functioning at a high level if he were forced to play. And as the Vikings saw when he went down in 2023, having an insurance policy at quarterback can be the difference between making the playoffs and finishing 7-10.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Eric Mangini predicts a reunion between Kirk Cousins and the Vikings
Continue reading...
