Vikings show lack of confidence in Kirk Cousins at NFL Combine

The Minnesota Vikings are doing their homework on quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine. Could they be looking at Kirk Cousins’ replacement?

The Minnesota Vikings have a new general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach in Kevin O’Connell, but the quarterback entering 2022, for now, is Kirk Cousins. The veteran is entering the final year of his contract, and recent news indicated that he would not be taking a discount on a contract extension with the team.

Could the Vikings be preparing to find Cousins’ replacement?

Well at the NFL Scouting Combine, they have met with top quarterback prospects Malik Willis of Liberty, Desmond Ridder of Cincinnati and Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh.

Vikings meet with various quarterback prospects at NFL Combine

This appears to be a case of a new regime doing their homework on the top quarterback prospects more than finding a replacement for Cousins. They do hold the 12th-overall pick in the NFL Draft, after all, which puts them in prime territory to have their choice of signal caller if no other teams make significant trade-ups ahead of them in the first-round.

While the Vikings do have Kellen Mond on the roster, let’s not forget that he was a draft pick last year by previous general manager Rick Spielman. Who knows, maybe Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell will want their own young quarterback on the roster just in case they are to move on from Cousins at some point between prior to the 2022 regular-season or when he hits unrestricted free agency in 2023?

Cousins is coming off a 2021 campaign where he threw for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 66.3-percent of his passes.

The Vikings have to figure out what to do at the quarterback position, since Cousins carries a hefty $45 million cap hit this year. Having met with the likes of Willis, Ridder and Pickett, Vikings fans are left wondering if the team will pull the trigger on using their first-round selection on a quarterback if they feel there is no way they can agree to an extension with Cousins.