The Minnesota Vikings done an offseason overhaul of the team’s general management and coaching staff. Then, that new batch of leaders remaining the present roster mainly intact, hoping to emulate the Los Angeles Rams drive to the Super Bowl in 2021 behind Matthew Stafford — but with Kirk Cousins rather.
That’s the strategy, in any case, and not everybody agrees with the knowledge of the approach. 1 of the most trusted income cap web sites, OverTheCap.com, is led by an analyst named Jason Fitzgerald. And he’s a single of the credible pundits flummoxed by the Vikings run-it-again mentality.
Talking with The Athletic, Fitzgerald opined on the 2022 Vikings:
There’s no lengthy-expression eyesight proper now at all. I do not get it. I believed that they would glance at this and be like, ‘We’ve received some more mature belongings on this group that we can trade away and use to get far better. At the incredibly the very least, test to stabilize our income cap so that we have alternatives to get greater players in free of charge company (down the street).’ They just went out and did what they did. … They’ve perpetually fully commited to remaining a workforce that wins anyplace from 7 to nine online games a season.
Coincidentally, this is the criticism shared by some Vikings fans, far too. When some see the efficacy of seeking to push the present roster towards the postseason underneath a new head coach, many others are confident it’s a stale continuation of assured mediocrity.
And for that camp of skeptics, 1 male is chiefly accountable — Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback owns an exactly-normal quarterback document of 59-59-2 (.500), so enthusiasts who think in the legitimacy of an person get-reduction record inside of a 53-guy workforce sport blame Cousins. Surprisingly, however, the aforementioned Stafford’s “quarterback record” of 74-90-1 (.451) just before joining the Rams does not sign up the similar scrutiny from supporters. “QB wins” are a just metric for Cousins but ended up not for Stafford in Detroit.
When a cap analyst like Fitzgerald faucets the Vikings with a seven-to-earn ceiling, it’s an assumption that teams led by Cousins are not able of extra.
In the end, Kevin O’Connell and Kirk Cousins are dependable for disproving adult males like Fitzgerald. If they do not, the Vikings are very likely to transfer from Cousins in the 2023 or 2024 offseason — and Fitzgerald’s viewpoint will be vindicated.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his each day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every single Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Product, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
