This isn't going to be a popular opinion with some....

[CFIAvike]

Let's take for granted we can believe some of what we've been told where it pertains to the QB position:

1.  "NFL Teams fails young QBs more than young QBs fail NFL Teams" - KOC
2.  KOC had severe reservations over whether JJM was ready to take over.
3.  Kwesi ultimately was the fall guy for the Darnold/QB situation

What this tells me is ownership has been embarrassed by Darnold/Seattle's success.  They will insist on a better situation at QB next season.  Finally, they also won't want to be embarrassed twice by creating their own "Darnold" and watch him have success further down the line.

I can't see a scenario where the Vikings punt on JJM completely...unless there is more going on behind the scenes than we know.  But I also think ownership will demand more out of the QB position than we got last year.  This means REAL competition needs to be brought in for JJ.  That being said, you have to be careful the kind of competition you bring in.  If you are bringing in a 26-28 year old that's costing you a decent amount of draft capital/salary, you're essentially saying you're moving on completely from JJM.  There's no QB in that realm that's going to be a "2 Year fix" (Murray/Willis/Jones?

So that means you need to move to an older vet.  I'm not even entertaining the idea of Geno Smith because he was actively AWFUL this year or Derek Carr because he hasn't touched a football in two years.  The Aaron Rodgers ship has sailed as I think he'll go with McCarthy in Pittsburgh for another year if he does decide to play.

That leaves realistically one QB that can make you competitive and not be tied to them outside of 2 years.....and that is one Kirk Daniel Cousins.  He knows the system inside and out, could literally hit the ground running and would provide ACTUAL competition for JJM.  If JJ miraculously blossoms over the course of the offseason and beats out Cousins, best of both worlds....you have your young Franchise QB and the best possible back up you could ask for that can run the entire playbook if JJ gets hurt.  If Cousins beats out JJ, you have an entire season to evaluate a non injured JJ behind the scenes to see if he can be your guy down the line.

If you determine it's not going to work with JJ after the season, in that scenario, you'd presumably have control of Cousins for the next 1-2 years to draft and groom his replacement from the 2027 draft class.

[Vikesrock]

I essentially said many of the same things a bit back, but one un-arguable point was brought up. Will Cousins come in somewhere where he isn't the starter? Is he in a place in his life and career where he will accept a backup/mentoring role? All indications with Kirk so far says...no..he still believes he can start and he still wants maximum cash investment. The Vikings are already over the cap significantly, so paying Cousins 30 million to backup probably isn't feasible.

Also, on point number 3, I don't think the QB situation had much if anything to do with Kwesi's downfall. I believe there was the beginning of a fracture between Kwesi and KOC. I believe the Wilfs had some PTSD from the Spielman and Zimmer days that they may have caused an overreaction in the other direction. I also believe the failure in draft day moves, and not even necessarily the picks, but for instance the unbelievably bad move in the 2022 draft and the inability to move up and get Drake Maye had a lot more to do with it then just not keeping Darnold. If they realistically decided to fire Kwesi because of hindsight on Darnold, then I am with Supa on this in saying they have no clue what they are doing and should sell the team to us fans as stockholders!

[kmillard]

Cousins will not sign up for a back up role.  He is coming to start or going somewhere else where he can.

[Vikergirl]

1. true
2. not sure that we know the total story here
3. there has been a lot of piling on here regardless the Wilfs signed off on the plan

Moving forward I guess we'll what JJM is truly made of and whether or not KOC can actually develop a young QB. Also curious about who else is going to end up on the QB room

[CFIAvike]

I think Cousins is signed with the idea that he is the starter or, at minimum, the leader in the clubhouse to start the season. JJ would literally have to beat him out with, what I'm assuming would be, an insanely good camp. Look I don't think anyone with a functional set of eyes would say that JJM doesn't have a long way to go...and this is coming from a JJM supporter. This would be the kind of pressure that makes or breaks him.

Cousins, by all rights, would be the starter unless JJ proves that he IS that good. You also give Cousins an opt out after one year if that makes him more comfortable, but you pay him and treat him like he's coming in as the starting QB.

[Vikesrock]

I think Cousins is signed with the idea that he is the starter or, at minimum, the leader in the clubhouse to start the season.  JJ would literally have to beat him out with, what I'm assuming would be, an insanely good camp.  Look I don't think anyone with a functional set of eyes would say that JJM doesn't have a long way to go...and this is coming from a JJM supporter.  This would be the kind of pressure that makes or breaks him. 

Cousins, by all rights, would be the starter unless JJ proves that he IS that good.  You also give Cousins an opt out after one year if that makes him more comfortable, but you pay him and treat him like he's coming in as the starting QB.

I just don't think this would be in the best interest of the team.  The 2 biggest issues with JJ right now is can he stay healthy and can KOC tailor a gameplan that fits his game.  The last 5 games he started, when healthy, he looked functional to good.  To me that is only going to get better, BUT he has to stay healthy.  The backup needs to be insurance so that the season doesn't blow up if he can't stay in there.

JJ can only go up, but again I think health will dictate where he goes from here.  I just think your best options at this point are going to be a QB that can stabilize in the case of an injury but isn't expecting to come in as the starter.  I am not even sure who that guy is at this point?  Maybe a Jameis Winston, Justin Fields (If released), even maybe a Joe Flacco or Ryan Tannehill.