Kirk Cousins says he'll be ready for OTAs, reiterates 'priority' is winning

"But what's interesting is how unpredictable winning can be," Cousins said.

Kirk Cousins has delivered a message to the NFL that his recovery from a surgically repaired Achilles tendon in his right leg won't keep him out of training camp, much less organized team activities over the summer. 

"My expectation is that I'll be able to practice during OTAs as normal, but the question will be, is it worth it? You have to weigh that a little bit, but my goal would be that I'm saying I can go and you guys are going to have to stop me because I feel that good. If I'm not allowed into the full-team drills, I know I can do basically a full-speed practice on the field next to it," Cousins told Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press. 

"But 7-on-7, there's nobody around you, it's a safe drill so at a minimum I would think that's a drill that as a pocket-passing quarterback would be very doable. And that's kind of the beauty of the Achilles injury, is that you can get back and you can get going again in a way that isn't as crippling as if it was a back injury or something that's a little more critical like your shoulder or your elbow."

Set to become a free agent in mid-March, Cousins' ability to return from a significant injury entering his age-36 season will be a critical question that interested teams need to answer, including the Minnesota Vikings. 

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is on record saying he'd like to re-sign Cousins, but there are no guarantees for a Minnesota club that has a long list of expensive players on its wish list, include extending superstar receiver Justin Jefferson and star left tackle Christian Darrisaw, not to mention trying to re-sign edge rusher Danielle Hunter. 

And there is no shortage of teams outside of Minnesota that could use a quarterback, meaning there could be a bidding war for Cousins if he doesn't come to terms with the Vikings before free agency begins at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 13. 

"I think pro football carries with it a level of uncertainty. Period," Cousins told Maaddi. "I learned that pretty quickly and have never really expected anything less. I just take it one day a time, one week at a time, one month at a time, one year at a time. We'll see where it leads from here."

Asked if his decision will be fueled more by money or the chance to win a Super Bowl, Cousins said "winning is always the priority."

"I think that was why I chose Minnesota six years ago. I looked around at the options and felt like Minnesota made sense for a chance to really win. And that will kind of always be the priority," he answered. 

"But what's interesting is how unpredictable winning can be. There are teams every year that you think should be in the Super Bowl and they don't even make the playoffs and then there's teams that you think had no business making the playoffs and they're making it to the second or third round. It goes both ways. It's hard to predict in this league, which is part of what makes the league great, is the parity. But certainly winning is an important factor."

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Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) talks with teammates prior to their game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field / Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports