Vikings QB Kirk Cousins Named to Pro Bowl as Injury Replacement for Aaron Rodgers

It's the third career Pro Bowl nod for Cousins, whose future in Minnesota remains unknown.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been named to his third career Pro Bowl, taking Aaron Rodgers' spot via injury replacement for this year's game.

It's the third career appearance for Cousins, who also made the Pro Bowl following the 2016 season when he was with Washington and after his second year with the Vikings in 2019. This particular nod is somewhat ironic, considering all of the trade rumors involving Minnesota's veteran QB and the endless debates on social media over whether or not that's something the Vikings should pursue.

Cousins wasn't anywhere near as good as Rodgers this year, considering the longtime Packers QB is about to win another MVP award. But Cousins did have an excellent statistical season: 4,221 yards on 66.3 percent completions, 33 touchdown passes to 7 interceptions, and one rushing TD.

The issue, as has been the case throughout his entire career, is the win-loss record. Cousins went just 8-8 as a starter this season and the Vikings fell short of the playoffs for the third time in his four years in Minnesota. His career record as a starter remains exactly .500 at 59-59-2.

People have all kinds of different opinions about those numbers, which is why Cousins is one of the most polarizing players in the entire NFL. His supporters will point to his stats, point to the Vikings' poor defenses over the past two seasons, and argue that trading him would be crazy. His detractors will cite his remarkably high cap hits, his inability to consistently elevate teams, his robotic style of play, and his lack of leadership to argue that extending him again would be crazy.

Wherever you stand in the Cousins debate heading into this critical offseason, it's a little humorous that he now has another Pro Bowl appearance that can be brought up in the arguments.

Realistically, this news doesn't affect his trade value. You could view it as a reminder that Cousins is better than a lot of quarterbacks out there, or you could view this as the perfect time to trade him to one of the many QB-needy teams across the league.

Cousins joins Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Harrison Smith, and fellow injury replacement Brian O'Neill as the Vikings' 2021/22 Pro Bowl contingent.

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