Kevin O'Connell: Vikings Want Kirk Cousins Back, But it's a Negotiation

This isn't exactly anything new from O'Connell, whose feelings on Cousins are well-known.

Kevin O'Connell is a big fan of Kirk Cousins. He's been pretty clear about that for a couple years now. Whenever he's been asked about Cousins this offseason, O'Connell has said that he'd like to have the pending free agent back in Minnesota in 2024. He reiterated that stance during his press conference at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. 

"Kirk Cousins knows how I feel about him," O'Connell said. "I've held no secrets there. He knows how the Minnesota Vikings feel about him. I believe Kirk wants to be a Viking, and we're going to work to try to make that the outcome."

That's a pretty straightforward quote, but it also isn't anything new from the Vikings' head coach — and it doesn't change the fact that there's a real possibility Cousins will end up elsewhere this offseason. On paper, both sides can desire a reunion, but they have to reach an agreement in the middle. The reality is that Cousins might be able to get more from another team than the Vikings are willing to offer.

"I think any time you go into situations like this, it is a negotiation," O'Connell said. "You're trying to come to an agreement that works for both sides, as we not only build our football team for 2024, but we're trying to do some things to help us sustain for the future as well. My communication is always strong with him, weekly dialogue, and I feel like we're heading towards a good place with Kirk. But like we've seen, free agency and the uncertainties this time of year, you've gotta be ready to have contingency plans and adjust on the fly. My feelings on him are pretty well known and I know Kirk knows that."

"At the end of the day, we have our interests, he has his, and we get to the table and see if we can figure out a solution to meet in the middle," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "That's what every contract negotiation is."

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Adofo-Mensah said he believes the Vikings can win the Super Bowl with Cousins. O'Connell, who has known Cousins since coaching him in Washington in 2017, believes the same thing, pointing to how well he was playing before his Achilles tear in Green Bay last year.

"We (came) here two years ago and Kirk was a huge reason why I thought so highly about the Minnesota Vikings opportunity," O'Connell said. "Because of my belief in him. We've won a lot of games over these two years with Kirk as our quarterback, and I thought he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League when he got hurt last year, coming off a Monday night win over the team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. To have that happen, it was a big deal for me, personally. But it's been awesome to see him through his rehab and where he's at now, really get right back up on his feet and attack this thing. My feelings on Kirk Cousins, they really have not wavered in two years, and if anything, they're stronger now, having gone through a lot of adversity together (and) a lot of success as well."

Cousins' injury recovery seems to be going very well. He just posted a couple videos this week where he's dropping back on a tennis court and throwing, which was conspicuously timed with the beginning of the combine and the conversations on his future that will take place.

"Every check-in that I get, either from the medical side or from Kirk himself, is always pretty shocking as far as how far along he is already," O'Connell said. "I know he works extensively, daily on all the different aspects. I was not surprised to see that video based upon my dialogue with him and where I see him going in the near-term future as far as the next phases of getting him back to 100 percent."

The bottom line is that O'Connell said what you'd expect him to say. He likes coaching Cousins quite a bit and believes the Vikings can win football games with him. Ultimately, it will come down to how much Adofo-Mensah and the front office are willing to pay to keep him as their quarterback in 2024. A reunion is certainly still possible, but this also might be the year where the Vikings let Cousins walk and choose to reset at the game's most important position.

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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