All Things 2024 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

OK, this may be an unpopular opinion, but -

let's say Cousins signs with Atlanta. everyone seems to think the Vikes would draft a rookie QB and bring in a "bridge" QB for one season.

and here's my opinion - if they're going to bring in someone like Darnold, Zach Wilson or that ilk, I'd rather have the Vikes just go with Nick Mullens. Seriously - he knows the offense, knows the WR's and he threw for over 300 yards in 3 of the last 4 games last season. is Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson really that much better than Mullens?

besides, Mullens is fun. he adds a "let's just chuck it down the field and see what happens" vibe to the operation. if nothing else, it makes the games entertaining.
 




OK, this may be an unpopular opinion, but -

let's say Cousins signs with Atlanta. everyone seems to think the Vikes would draft a rookie QB and bring in a "bridge" QB for one season.

and here's my opinion - if they're going to bring in someone like Darnold, Zach Wilson or that ilk, I'd rather have the Vikes just go with Nick Mullens. Seriously - he knows the offense, knows the WR's and he threw for over 300 yards in 3 of the last 4 games last season. is Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson really that much better than Mullens?

besides, Mullens is fun. he adds a "let's just chuck it down the field and see what happens" vibe to the operation. if nothing else, it makes the games entertaining.

I think the Vikings will trade up, draft a QB, and start him from day 1. I also think Mullens will be the backup. So much of this bridge QB talk is just talk. There's no point in wasting money, picks, or a roster space on a backup QB that may or may not be better than Mullens.

I am thrilled that the Vikings showed zero interest in Wilson, and Greenard is a good pickup. So far so good for Kwesi.
 


I think the Vikings will trade up, draft a QB, and start him from day 1. I also think Mullens will be the backup. So much of this bridge QB talk is just talk. There's no point in wasting money, picks, or a roster space on a backup QB that may or may not be better than Mullens.

I am thrilled that the Vikings showed zero interest in Wilson, and Greenard is a good pickup. So far so good for Kwesi.
This is the way.
 


OK, this may be an unpopular opinion, but -

let's say Cousins signs with Atlanta. everyone seems to think the Vikes would draft a rookie QB and bring in a "bridge" QB for one season.

and here's my opinion - if they're going to bring in someone like Darnold, Zach Wilson or that ilk, I'd rather have the Vikes just go with Nick Mullens. Seriously - he knows the offense, knows the WR's and he threw for over 300 yards in 3 of the last 4 games last season. is Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson really that much better than Mullens?

besides, Mullens is fun. he adds a "let's just chuck it down the field and see what happens" vibe to the operation. if nothing else, it makes the games entertaining.
I can't disagree more. Mullens is not fun and has zero upside.
 

With all due respect to Dianni Russini — who I’ve never heard of before (but that could just be my own glibness) and have no idea why Cousins’ camp has chosen her as their leak outlet — her Tweet is barely more than a nothingburger. Maybe a crumb of beef between the buns.

It was a given at this point that he wasn’t going to be signed by the Vikings before 11am today and was going to get official offers.

If it was the done deal being bandied about, him signing with ATL would’ve been already announced by every source.

That there’s still nothing means there’s still a chance. That’s fine for me.

They have until Wed to get it done.

If Atlanta (or an 11th hour suitor, as sometimes happens) overpays for Cousins, then it is what it is. Nothing can really be said, other than that’s a push.
 



I can't disagree more. Mullens is not fun and has zero upside.

What does fun or upside have to do with being a backup QB?

You know who has better career passing numbers than Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson? Nick Mullens.
 

The correlation to success on the field
There is no such correlation, never was, never will be, and there never was supposed to be.

As I’ve correctly said before, an owners job is only to make sure that facilities are top notch, and more generally that they’re spending the money necessary in the proper areas to make winning plausible.

The owners are never directly responsible for winning. The only people who falsely try to propagate such phantom responsibilities are those who harbor ill will towards the owners. Eg. by those fans who were priced out of new stadiums.

Success is very largely dependent on the luck of hitting on a great GM and HC.
 


What does fun or upside have to do with being a backup QB?

You know who has better career passing numbers than Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson? Nick Mullens.
I'd still take either over Mullens. Plus if you sign no one, you have zero leverage in trade negotiations if you're trying to move up. If you sign Darnold, you can at least plausibly claim you're going to "take the best player available" instead of being obviously desperate for a QB.
 



This is huge!

Vikings re-signing Quisenberry and Brandel on the OL!!! Hell yeah!!

Okay, I'm kidding...
 

I'd still take either over Mullens. Plus if you sign no one, you have zero leverage in trade negotiations if you're trying to move up. If you sign Darnold, you can at least plausibly claim you're going to "take the best player available" instead of being obviously desperate for a QB.

What world are you living in? Sam Darnold is about to be on his 4th team in 5 years. He has been terrible everywhere he's played. He has zero upside.

Anyone pretending they are going to have Darnold as their #1 QB next season, is also preparing to have the #1 pick in next years draft.
 
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The owners are never directly responsible for winning.

Success is very largely dependent on the luck of hitting on a great GM and HC.
I find that preposterous. If they hire stooges in the front office then there is a shortage of talent and lack of ability to develop talent which makes winning more difficult or next to impossible.

Any one hire can be "unlucky", but over decades? Nope.

Daniel Snyder was never going to ever get lucky and hire a winning combo. Ever.

The only people who falsely try to propagate such phantom responsibilities are those who harbor ill will towards the owners. Eg. by those fans who were priced out of new stadiums.
Conflating two things that have zero to do with each other, and if you are insisting yours truly was priced out...wrong yet again. Rehash.
 

What world are you living in? Sam Darnold is about to be on 4th team in 5 years. He has been terrible everywhere he's played. He has zero upside.

Anyone pretending they are going to have Darnold as their #1 QB next season, is also preparing to have the #1 pick in next years draft.
I'm not advocating for or against Sam Darnold specifically, I'm saying they can't roll into the draft with their QB room being Nick Muellens and Jaren Hall. They have to sign someone who can plausibly be the starter next year if they either don't draft a QB or draft a project QB.
 




tweet from Diana Russini of the Athletic:

Kirk Cousins, the top free-agent QB on the market, has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons, per sources. The Vikings pushed strongly for Cousins’s services, but in the end, the Falcons were going to go as far as they needed to make this happen.
 

tweet from Diana Russini of the Athletic:

Kirk Cousins, the top free-agent QB on the market, has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons, per sources. The Vikings pushed strongly for Cousins’s services, but in the end, the Falcons were going to go as far as they needed to make this happen.

Good for Kirk, getting that bag. Happy for him.

I had infinite faith in the desperation of Atlanta to do whatever they had to do. Good for KAM and the Vikings FO for drawing their line in the sand and not caving. You have to admire them for not caving in on Cousins here, whether you're a KAM fan or not.
 

for benefit of MPLS:

Dianna Marie Russini (born February 11, 1983) is an American sports journalist who currently works as an NFL reporter and insider for The Athletic.[2] She had previously worked for several years at ESPN as an NFL analyst and insider, appearing frequently on NFL Countdown and NFL Live. Russini joined ESPN and became a SportsCenter anchor in July 2015.[3] Prior to being hired by ESPN, she worked as the main sports anchor for WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.[4]

Born in The Bronx, Russini grew up in Norwood, New Jersey, and attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan,[5] where she was All State in soccer, basketball, softball and track. She played soccer for four seasons at George Mason University.[6]
[7]
 

Take the savings, sign a DT, CB, RB and Drew Lock.
 

Good for Kirk, getting that bag. Happy for him.

I had infinite faith in the desperation of Atlanta to do whatever they had to do. Good for KAM and the Vikings FO for drawing their line in the sand and not caving. You have to admire them for not caving in on Cousins here, whether you're a KAM fan or not.

since you're the resident Raiders guy - thoughts on Wilkens to the Raiders and Jacobs to the Packers?
 

My advice to those that still don't participate would be to start playing Fantasy Football. We pretty much have last place locked up in the NFC North quite handily.

Justin Jefferson is watching and he's not happy
 

since you're the resident Raiders guy - thoughts on Wilkens to the Raiders and Jacobs to the Packers?

I think Wilkins was arguably the most impactful player available in FA. I honestly think there are a very few select guys that you almost could NOT overpay; Wilkins is in that kind of category. He immediately makes Maxx better, and should also really help last year's 1st round pick, Edge Tyree Wilson, a lot better as well. This is a big deal for the Raiders.

I'm in the super minority on this one but with how many holes the Raiders have on their roster, if I were calling the shots, I would roll this next season with Aidan O'Connell and use their assets to plug holes everywhere else. O'Connell is someone that can be serviceable I think, but it seems nobody agrees with me.

Don't care about the Raiders losing Jacobs, he had an inflated view of his value, but I hate him going to the Vikings rival. Ugghhhh
 

I hate seeing Kirk go, and it almost certainly means a 6 or less win season in 2024, but if Atlanta gave him 4 years at the $ he was looking for, it's probably the right move.

Thanks for everything Kirk, you got way more criticism than you deserved during your time in purple.
 

You don’t have the guy shirt off, chain out blowing the horn to open the game, then cut him that offseason.

Kirk is back. Take the L.


Two years or three? How much per year? How many years guaranteed?

Details, details. Don’t bother me with the details. Just tell me when it’s done.
Good one.
 

Take the savings, sign a DT, CB, RB and Drew Lock.
Spend salary cap on 2024 with no QB? Pass. Commit to the rebuild, clear more salary cap beyond the upcoming season and embrace the tank.
 




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