The Minnesota Vikings have multiple issues going into the Scouting Combine, free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft. However, it's quite clear what their biggest flaw is and must be addressed at the start of free agency.
The Vikings need a veteran quarterback who can either take the reins or push J.J. McCarthy into a position of leadership and effectiveness. This is an obvious need and it was underlined when the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after the conclusion of the 2025 season. The Vikings did not have a big-time backup last year — they made an unsuccessful attempt to retain Daniel Jones — but they did not have a quality backup on hand to take over if McCarthy was injured or inconsistent.
It turned out that both of those issues impacted McCarthy. Adofo-Mensah's fall from grace was finalized when he admitted that the Vikings could have prepared differently for the 2025 season by having a solid backup on hand. He second-guessed himself. The team decided that their general manager was not sure of the moves he was making and the Vikings had to move on.
At this point, the Vikings have handed much of the personnel power to Rob Brzezinski, who has been one of the key financial decision makers within the organization. The Vikings will wait to hire a new general manager until sometime after the NFL Draft.
Brzezinski will get quite a lot of input from head coach Kevin O'Connell. The Vikings have had two excellent regular-seasons during O'Connell's four years on the job and two that were disappointing. O'Connell's greatest area of expertise is his ability to work with quarterbacks and lead them to peak seasons.
‘QB whisperer' reputation has been well-earned
He has had great success working with Matthew Stafford (Rams) along with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold during his time in Minnesota. That does not mean he can turn everyone he works with into a winning NFL quarterback.
There are no guarantees that McCarthy will grow into a quarterback who can lead the Vikings to postseason success. O'Connell has professed his confidence in McCarthy and his ability to reach that level, but the Vikings need an insurance policy that can be counted on to produce.
The decision for the Vikings should be an easy one. The Atlanta Falcons are about to release Cousins, and it would make plenty of success for the Vikings to bring him back to help McCarthy develop or play the position if O'Connell deems him the best quarterback for the team in the upcoming season.
Cousins has always had the reputation of an accurate passer throughout his 14-year NFL career. Cousins played the first six seasons in Washington, he moved on to the Vikings for six more seasons before playing the last two in Atlanta. He had his greatest success with the Vikings under O'Connell.
Cousins displayed more confidence during his two seasons with O'Connell than he has at any point in his career. His teammates clearly loved and respected him. Justin Jefferson, who may be the best receiver in the NFL, has a great relationship with O'Connell and would welcome him back.
Cousins, O'Connell formed a great partnership
Cousins had his best season with the Vikings in 2022 when he completed 424 of 643 passes for 4,547 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career that season. He was on his way to an even better season in 2023 but he suffered a torn Achilles in his eighth game. Cousins an 18-5 TD-interception ratio at the time of the non-contact injury.
The 37-year-old Cousins was never in a comfortable situation with the Falcons. After that team signed O'Connell as a free agent, they immediately drafted Michael Penix in the first round. Instead of welcoming their new veteran quarterback, the Falcons let him know he was just a short-timer and the position would soon belong to Penix.
If the Vikings make a bold move and bring back Cousins, he will be going to a team with excellent offensive weapons, including Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Aaron Jones. Cousins has won in that situation before and the idea of returning to a positive situation in Minnesota has to be appealing to him.
Cousins knows that he will be in competition with a talented but somewhat inexperienced quarterback. That's far different than the situation he faced in Atlanta. The Falcons had pulled the rug out from under Cousins by drafting Penix.
The situation in Minnesota is clear going into the 2026 season. He will have to beat out McCarthy in order to get the QB1 job and he will also have to mentor the 23-year-old quarterback at the same time.
There are other free-agent moves the Viking must make, but bringing back Cousins is essential.
