With Kirk Cousins struggling, the QB carousel of 2018 continues to sputter
It was another rough weekend for Kirk Cousins.
The Vikings’ quarterback has been at the center of a growing storm of frustration in Minnesota, prompted by the team’s lifeless offense and middling results. After a 16-6 loss to the Bears that featured the former Redskin getting sacked six times, fumbling twice and going 5 for 13 on third-down attempts, Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen seemed to agree with the team’s fan base that the offense, and Cousins, needed to improve.
“At some point, you’re not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL,” he said. “That’s when you have to be able to throw the ball . ... You have to be able to hit the deep balls.”
Thielen tried to walk those comments back a bit on Monday, but there is no doubt that many people in Minnesota have not been satisfied with their blockbuster 2018 free agent signing. After a strong start to last season, Cousins has looked, well, off. Over his last 12 games, he has thrown for more than 250 yards just four times, and has yet to do so this season.
In the Star Tribune, columnist Chip Scoggins called Minnesota’s performance against Chicago “putrid” and asked whether this type of dull mediocrity from Cousins was simply the new normal.
“When does anything change?” Scoggins asked. “He’s not a rookie.”
Ouch. Let’s go back to happier times, shall we? Think back to the offseason of 2018.
For months, free agent talk had centered on Cousins, who seemed destined for a divorce with Washington after navigating his way toward free agency. Cousins’s pending decision was predicted to have a domino effect around the league. This turned out to be true. And in that game of dominoes, just about everyone lost.
There were at least seven teams in need of a quarterback that offseason: Arizona, Buffalo, Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, the New York Jets, Minnesota and Washington. All were linked to Cousins at one point or another.
The strongest candidate was Minnesota. The Vikings had plenty of cap space, were coming off a 13-3 season and possessed a bevy of skill position stars to stick around a new franchise quarterback. In mid-March, they handed Cousins that historic three-year, $84 million contract.
The Redskins, knowing that they were going to lose Cousins after a multiyear contract saga, tried to be proactive by trading for Alex Smith two months earlier. Kansas City was willing to deal the former No. 1 pick because the Chiefs had young Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings. Mahomes went on to win the 2018 NFL MVP, and so the Chiefs appear to be the only true winners of that 2018 veteran quarterback carousel.
Smith, of course, did not last long as Cousins’ replacement in Washington. He broke two bones in his leg in a Week 11 loss to the Texans and his football career remains in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, with Minnesota locked in on Cousins, there were three Vikings quarterbacks on the open market. Case Keenum, coming off a Pro Bowl season, signed a sizable deal with Denver. He lasted one lifeless season before getting dealt to the Redskins to replace Smith. On Sunday, he was yanked in favor of rookie Dwayne Haskins Jr. Not ideal.
After missing out on Cousins and then failing to find success with Keenum, Broncos nation turned its lonely eyes to Joe Flacco in 2019. He has led the team to a horrid 0-4 start.
Sam Bradford, one of two bigname backups in Minnesota in 2017, wandered to Arizona that offseason, where he signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals. He lasted three games as the starter before rookie firstrounder Josh Rosen took over. (Rosen didn’t last either, getting shipped to Miami after the team took Kyler Murray No. 1 overall in this year’s draft.) Bradford is currently a free agent.
Teddy Bridgewater signed a one-year deal with the Saints, and eventually re-upped after an exciting season as Drew Brees’ backup. He’s now the starter in New Orleans after Brees went down with an injury in Week 2.
The Browns, also mentioned as a possible destination for Cousins, traded a third-round pick to Buffalo for Tyrod Taylor. He lost his job to No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield in Week 3 of that season. Taylor is now the backup for the Chargers.
Buffalo, without Taylor, signed A.J. McCarron and, if you can believe this, he is no longer Buffalo’s starting quarterback. In fact, he never was. The Bills traded him to Oakland one week into the season and he is now the backup in Houston.
Jacksonville and the Jets went in different directions to fill their Cousins-size voids. The Jaguars stuck with Blake Bortles for one more season and then threw a ton of money at Nick Foles. Foles was injured less than an hour into the season. Gardner Minshew, Jock Strap King, is now running things down south.