If everything goes according to plan, the Minnesota Vikings will be playing their first preseason game on August 14. To get prepared for the start of the 2020 season, we’ll go through the roster and break it down, position by position. Today, we start with the quarterbacks.
For better or for worse, the Vikings are tied to Kirk Cousins for the foreseeable future. For most of his career, Cousins has been labeled as a good-but-not-great QB. He did a fantastic job of changing the narrative last season, capped off with an impressive overtime win against the Saints in the playoffs – which led to the team rewarding him with a massive extension and tying the two together through the 2022 season.
In 2019, Cousins had a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.3 (the highest of his career). He finished the season with a completion percentage of 69% (307/444) for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions. His touchdown total was tied with Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Deshaun Watson for eighth best in the league, and his low interception mark was beaten by only four quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes last year (Drew Brees, Mahomes, Rodgers, and Russell Wilson).
It’s clear, just based on stats alone, that Cousins should be considered to be among the best quarterbacks in the league. He will be 32 years old when the season starts, but with QBs playing into their forties, Cousins could remain a member of the Vikings for another decade. He proved to me last year that he can help the Vikings win games, but with the departure of Stefon Diggs and an arguably worse offensive line, this will be a big year for Cousins.
Sean Mannion, the 28-year-old former Ram is entering the sixth year of his career and is penciled in as the primary backup to Cousins. I say penciled in because the only thing he really has going for him is his age. Mike Zimmer prefers to have a veteran backup at QB, a player who can step in and lead the team if anything were to happen to the starter.
The bad news is that Mannion has only started two games in his NFL career – throwing 74 passes for zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The good news is that he is on a one-year contract which would only cost the Vikings $137,500 to cut him.
The Vikings will likely keep two quarterbacks on the roster, which means second-year player Jake Browning and rookie Nate Stanley will be battling it out for a practice squad spot. Browning was an undrafted rookie in 2019 out of Washington. He signed a two-year contract this offseason, however, so the Vikings obviously see potential in the 24-year old.
The Vikings spent a seventh-round pick on Nate Stanley this year. During his four year college career at Iowa, Stanley completed 58% of his passes (673/1155) for 8,297 yards, 68 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
Make sure to check out next week’s article, as we dive into the running back depth chart. Until then, reach out to me on Twitter (@JordanWrightNFL) and let me know who you think should be the Vikings’ backup QB. Skol!