Breaking news: The Vikings figure to play a key role in the franchise.

admin | January 19, 2024 | Minnesota vikings | No Comments

Voice of the Vikings Paul Allen questions if ‘analytics add up’ for keeping Kirk Cousins

The Vikings figure to play a key role in the quarterback market, either in free agency or the draft.

Is this the year the Vikings get aggressive and trade up for a franchise quarterback?

Minnesota Vikings radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen talked about the possibility on his KFXN-FM 100.3 radio show Thursday morning, asking former Vikings linebacker and current radio network sideline reporter Ben Leber if he thinks the Vikings could move up into the top five to get their QB of choice.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think so, man,” Leber answered.

“You could, but they’re going to hold you over the fire and say ‘OK well we want X, Y and Z.’ And if it comes to existing player equity we don’t really have it. So you can’t really trade players, so you’re trading future picks,” Leber continued.

“You might be one quarterback away from making a little run in the playoffs, but I don’t think anybody believes that this roster, as is right now, is a Super Bowl-contending team. You have so many holes to fill, mostly on defense, that you probably have to think young and you’ve gotta fill those needs through the draft that I don’t think that adding a C.J. Stroud type of guy fixes all of your ills with one pick.”

But Allen questioned “how hard” the Vikings front office, led by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, can “preach analytics” if they bring Cousins back after a serious injury.

“I just can’t imagine the analytics add up to a 36-year-old off an Achilles injury, at fat cash,” Allen said. “I can’t possibly imagine that the analytics, that are of now, add up to something like that.”

Cousins told on Thursday that he expects to be ready to practice during summer organized team activities, which if true means he could be fully ready for training camp and the start of the 2024 regular season.

Another variable that Allen mentioned is that bringing Cousins back next season gives the Vikings a good chance to win games, meaning their first-round pick in 2025 could be later in the first round, which in turn would put them further away from drafting a franchise quarterback. So is now the time to pounce?

Another hypothetical scenario postulated by the Vikings announcer was the idea that Cousins signs with the 49ers. For that to happen, Allen figures it would take a disastrous performance by Brock Purdy on Saturday night against the Packers.

“That’s just another little aside when watching the 7:15 on Saturday,” Allen said. “Of course I have no steam and do I think it would transpire? Probably not. If the Niners lose and Purdy is an absolute disaster, well, I mean, think about next-level [Kyle Shanahan] and a certain quarterback about to become a free agent. That’s a road down which I would travel.”

Tags:C.J. Stroud, Kyle Shanahan, Shanahan, Vikings

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Breaking news: The Vikings figure to play a key role in the franchise.

Voice of the Vikings Paul Allen questions if ‘analytics add up’ for keeping Kirk Cousins

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Voice of the Vikings Paul Allen questions if ‘analytics add up’ for keeping Kirk Cousins

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