Just when it looked like the Minnesota Vikings had found a bit of life, quarterback Kirk Cousins went down with a season-ending Achilles injury.
He had been playing well, and he ended his season with 18 touchdown passes and 2,331 passing yards on a 69.5 percent completion rate in eight games.
There had already been a lot of speculation about Cousins’ future in Minnesota, and he was the subject of plenty of trade rumors prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline.
He is in the final year of his contract, and per Kevin Seifert, head coach Kevin O’Connell sounds like he wants Cousins to stick around.
Notable that Kevin O’Connell said: “Kirk Cousins is going to be healthy again. I know he’s going to be a free agent after this season, but Kirk knows how I feel about him, and that will be something that will hopefully works itself out.”
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 31, 2023
Cousins is 35 years of age, and if he’s able to overcome his Achilles injury and be largely the same player after he returns, he should have at least a little bit left in the tank.
The problem is that historically, a torn Achilles acts as, for all intents and purposes, the end of an athlete’s career as it robs him of much of his mobility.
Cousins has made the Pro Bowl four times, including nods in both of the last two seasons, but it’s anyone’s guess to what type of level he will play at following this injury.
The Vikings are now on a three-game winning streak and improved to 4-4 on the season with Sunday’s victory over the Green Bay Packers, and they have just acquired QB Joshua Dobbs in an attempt to stabilize things and be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
They will visit the Atlanta Falcons, who are in first place in the NFC South, this coming Sunday.
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Vikings Defender Shares Team’s Reaction To The Kirk Cousins Injury