Cousins in the Bank

[Montana Tom]

I think Kirko Chainz deserves applause when he comes to US Bank stadium. We have much to be thankful for, with him moving on.
We have far more cap space and flexibility next year, we have more wins (I suspect, although my crystal ball is pretty cloudy, I do believe we would not be 10-2 with him). I posted it on a previous thread. THANK YOU KIRK FOR TAKING THE MONEY AND LEAVING.

[JR44]

Fortunately this is not NY or PA, Viking fans are pretty classy, I think it will a very warm and positive ovation. Kirk is a nice guy, he did a lot of great things here. No one really knows what happened in the negotiations, personally I think the Vikes really wanted to move on, but it doesn't matter, he was a Viking for 6 years and a positive presence in the community, I think he will be recognized for that.

[TheWinterSKOLdier]

Will the Vikings boo Kirk? I kinda have a feeling they will. How quickly we forget Kirko Chainz and the shirtless gjallarhorn thing. 

I'll be at the game, and he'll get a nice round of applause from me at the beginning. But once the game starts, all bets are off.

[1VikesFan]

I think he deserves a standing ovation!

[supafreak84]

There's zero to boo Kirk Cousins about. He was a really good player in Minnesota, upstanding citizen in the community, and we should be thankful he jumped ship at the right time for the Vikings.

[Caactorvike]

We should definitely applaud him for all the reasons stated. He gave it all he got, he had to deal with Zimmer who didn’t like him, and he was a good guy. I’m excited about our future and which him the best- just not this Sunday.

[StickierBuns]

There's zero to boo Kirk Cousins about. He was a really good player in Minnesota, upstanding citizen in the community, and we should be thankful he jumped ship at the right time for the Vikings.

Agreed, why boo him? Some fans have this delusion of 'loyalty' and its a business. And nobody has worked it better than Kirko.

[Kentis]

   
Booooooooo…! 

[purplefaithful]

Kirk Cousins returns to Minnesota the same quarterback in a new stage of his career

The Vikings play their former quarterback on Sunday, a game he is framing as a “moment of gratitude.”


FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The refrains are familiar: Coaches praise his thoroughness and the honesty with which he owns mistakes. Teammates recall how quickly he worked the lunchroom to make connections, and how precisely he tutored them on the way he wanted routes run and protections blocked.

No quarterback, especially not one drafted 102nd overall, lasts 13 years in the NFL without starting over in one way or another. Kirk Cousins, you’ll likely not be shocked to learn, has a process for it.

By the time they reach Cousins’ age, quarterbacks who’ve lasted this long in the NFL generally fall into one of two camps. There are the franchise cornerstones, who’ve played a decade or more with one team and have put their names on trophies. And then there are the journeymen, existing for a year at a time as backups who could run the offense if necessary.

Cousins occupies a kind of third category: the private contractor. He has made nearly $300 million in his NFL career, having earned at least $19 million each of his last nine seasons while playing for three teams. He is 948 yards away from joining Carson Palmer as the only NFL quarterbacks to post 4,000-yard seasons for three different teams.
There is a particular demand for his services, often at an estimable price, among teams that view themselves as a quarterback upgrade away from contention. While he doesn’t stay a decade with one team, he earns multiyear deals, often laden with guarantees from clubs willing to pay for a professional effort at the position, which Cousins delivers through an approach that is transferable, repeatable and deliberate.

Cousins maintains plenty of friendships in the Vikings organization, and there was plenty of cordiality before the game this week. Vikings players praised their former quarterback, with Harrison Phillips saying Thursday he hopes fans will welcome Cousins in “an appropriate way” when his name is announced. But the Brian Flores defense that flustered Cousins in practices last year has only grown more intricate, and Cousins’ reduced mobility after last year’s Achilles tear could leave him in a precarious position against a team that blitzes more than any in the NFL.

“A year and a half ago, it’s like an eternity in football,” Cousins said Wednesday. “So I think the way they’ve changed their personnel, the way they’ve evolved … you can’t draw as much [from previous experience] as you’d like. But I have a lot of respect for Coach Flores, for that group and the guys on that team. Their record is what it is for a reason. They’ve earned it, and they’ve been a challenge for people.”

Cousins framed the reunion this weekend as a moment for gratitude, telling Atlanta reporters the now-familiar story about his neighbor Jon Weber, who used to clear snow from his Inver Grove Heights driveway, and joking about his ongoing friendship with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who continues to be in touch with Cousins.

“I have friends in the league on other teams. I don’t know if friendships are allowed in it or not,” he said with a laugh, referencing the NFL’s tampering investigation into the Falcons’ recruitment of Cousins this spring. “But yes, I do try to keep in touch with a lot of people there, and Kevin is certainly one of them.”

His compatriots in the Falcons’ quarterback room, though, didn’t try to downplay what the game means to Cousins.

“He’s very aware of what went on in the [Chargers] game, what he needs to fix, and it’s an immediate mindset change of how we’re going to attack the next week,” quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates said. “And, obviously everybody knows this one is special to him.”

Departing from Minnesota was emotional for his family; his wife planned to fly to the Twin Cities before the game to catch up with friends and revisit some favorite spots. The Cousins family has moved into a home near the Falcons’ facility, and the quarterback’s sons, Cooper and Turner, are thriving in school. But the return to Minnesota will trigger plenty of nostalgia.

“It’s certainly unique,” he said. “It’s not like everywhere you play on the road, you spent six years there. You have memories come back to you, but that’s part of the deal. For so many players in this league, we’ve all been on other teams. It’s rare to play double-digit years with one team. So for many of us, it’s kind of the way of life.”
It has been for Cousins, the Pro Bowl QB for hire. It might continue to be, depending on how quickly the Falcons move to Penix.

By now, he’s used to it.

Every time he goes to a news conference to speak to reporters, he said, “It’s always kind of a, ‘Well, I guess I beat the odds there.’ At some point, they’ll tell you, ‘Hey, you’re not going to get another chance. Your time is up in this league.’ Until then, keep trying to pick myself up off the mat and get back to work.”

Startribune

[hogjowlsjohnny]

He will never win a championship. but he will walk away very happy!
Flores needs to find a way to get consistent pressure. Kirk can't move.
This should be the easiest game the Vikings have had in awhile. I will say 30-17!