Kevin O’Connell says he hopes Kirk Cousins will come back in 2024.

Kevin O’Connell says he hopes Kirk Cousins will come back in 2024.

Kirk Cousins is a free agent in March, and the Vikings can’t stop him from going after other offers. However, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear upon Tuesday that he wants Cousins to come back next year.

O’Connell told the press, “Kirk Cousins is expected to get healthy again.” “Kirk knows how I care about him, and I know he’ll be an independent player after this season. That will result in something that hopefully works out.”

You all know how I’m feeling about Kirk. Kirk is aware of how I’m feeling about him. It seems like he was playing better than anyone else in the NFL. That’s all changed now. This year, Cousins did very well under O’Connell.

In 2018, Cousins moved to Minnesota as an unrestricted agent. The fact the Vikings didn’t extend his deal this year gave the idea that they were ready, if not eager, to work without them after 2023.

The injury might render it easier to keep dating again by limiting his choices and making him as well as the Vikings more motivated to do it again the following year.

Cousins’ deal ends at the end of this season. This injury is likely to affect his free market market, since he will be thirty-six years old next season and have just had his first big surgery as a professional.

It’s not impossible that he could come back to the Vikings the following season on a short-term, somewhat team-friendly deal to keep building the team with Kevin O’Connell.

Long ago, it looked like the Vikings would try to get their next quarterback early in the 2019 draft. But now that they’ll be 4-4, could they pick again in the 20s?

Could Jaren Hall, Nick Mullens, or the newly acquired Josh Dobbs carry the Vikings to the seventh spot in the NFC? If so, they might not play well enough to seem like a good choice for 2024 and beyond.

That means the Vikings might not be able to trade up sufficiently to get Caleb Williams as well as Drake Might in April. O’Connell said, “I’m evaluating my whole coaching staff.” “I’m taking a look back at everything we did.”

Then they would have to decide if they like any of the other possible first-round quarterbacks, such as J.J. McCarthy, Quinn Ewers, Michael Penix Jr., Shedeur Sanders, as well as Bo Nix. If the answer is no, it might be best for everyone if cousins came back.

Even though it wouldn’t work in the long term, Cousins was playing very well this season, especially in recent victory over the Packers and 49ers. Even without Justin Jefferson, he was running O’Connell’s offense like a surgeon.

It might be worth it for the Vikings to get them back on, say, a contract for two years worth $30 million a year. Of course, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would have been able to decide if that fits with the team’s plans. Jefferson as well as Christian Darrisaw are also set to sign market-setting deals soon.

From Cousins’ point of view, would he become willing to give up less money in order to stay in Minnesota, where he loves being on and off the field? He’s always said that he wants to play his last game for the Vikings.

But, as any player should, his side has always tried to get him the best deal possible in contract talks. Even with the injury, another team might be able to offer him more compared to the Vikings would. That’s something he would have to decide.

One thing is for sure: O’Connell loves Cousins as well as the way he played this season. The Vikings’ coach seemed to leave the door open for Cousins to come back next year when he talked about him on Tuesday.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah along with head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Vikings were upbeat about the future on Wednesday, but they wouldn’t say if defensive coordinator Ed Donatell would be a part of it.

The Vikings won the NFC North for their first time since 2017 and went 13-4 during the regular season. This was despite having the 31st best defense in the NFL. Last Sunday’s 31–24 home playoff loss against the New York Giants was bad for that team.

Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell were questioned if Donatell would be back next season at a news conference in the TCO Sports Center at the end of the season. O’Connell replied. Donatell, 65, just finished his first season with the Vikings, just like the general manager as well as head coach.