We all know that Kirk Cousins hasn’t undergone a metamorphosis. He didn’t arrive in Minnesota as Jimmy Garoppolo, go into a plexiglass booth this offseason, and turn into Josh Allen. Thirty-three-year-old quarterbacks don’t suddenly evolve into superstars, especially those who are skeptical of science.
There isn’t a Lamborghini suddenly occupying Cousins’ parking spot at the TCO Performance Center, and he probably still has an aversion to grill marks. He will forever drive a dented van and eat mystery meat.
Everyone should have known what the Minnesota Vikings were getting when they signed him to that infamous $84 million contract in 2018. Yet, we all acted surprised when he didn’t drive winning for a team coming off an NFC Championship appearance. However, now that he’s playing better this year, people are convinced that Cousins has become something he isn’t.
Cousins hasn’t changed. The Vikings have.
The Vikings have an offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who believes in Cousins’ ability to make reads at the line of scrimmage. K.J. Osborn has transformed from an afterthought kick returner into a bona fide WR3. Rick Spielman invested in the offensive line, taking Christian Darrisaw with a first-round pick and signing Brian O’Neill to a $92.5 million extension.
Allow Cousins to make some pre-snap reads, give him three good receivers and a relatively clean pocket, and he’ll move the chains. Look, he’s been great this year. He led the drive that sent the Cincinnati Bengals game into overtime and put Greg Joseph in position to beat the Arizona Cardinals. He outplayed Russell Wilson and staved off disaster against the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers.
His lone blemish came against Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland was coming off a game where they held Justin Fields to 6/20 passing for 68 yards, and Stefanski had been with the Vikings since 2006. He had served as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons, is close to Kubiak, and knew all of their secrets. Still, Cousins threw for over 200 yards and was close enough to the end zone to potentially tie the game as time expired.
Mike Zimmer hasn’t always been Cousins’ most prominent advocate. He never had the fondness for him that he did for Teddy Bridgewater, and he was upset that Cousins and many of Minnesota’s star players would not get vaccinated in the offseason. But he had high praise for Cousins after the Cardinals game and commended his leadership.
“His leadership has been a lot better this year,” he said in late September, “just the way he’s gone about his business and not just being to himself, but being around the guys more.”
However, his leadership style is hard to pin down. Every player will give you a different answer when asked about it.
“He’s just real calm,” said C.J. Ham. “He’s having a lot of fun. You can see the drive to compete, and when you see your leader have such a drive to compete, everybody wants to do that.”
Alexander Mattison pointed out that his locker is next to Justin Jefferson’s, and Cousins has picked up some swag by osmosis.
“Some of the stuff he says, it’s pretty funny just coming from him,” said Mattison. “He’s definitely opened up a little bit.”
Cook’s explanation is most telling, though. Cousins has gone from a newcomer to one of the holdovers as Spielman overhauled the roster.
“He’s being comfortable just being him,” said Cook. “When you come to a new organization, quarterback or not, you’re kind of feeling yourself out. But I think 8 is at a point where he’s just being him.”
Cousins has emphasized that he was the newcomer in 2018 and had to find his fit. The Vikings were coming off of a run to the NFC Championship. Many of their stars had already established themselves. Cousins had proven that he was more than a backup in Washington and was upset that he had been franchise-tagged twice. Signing with Minnesota was his opportunity to prove he could lead a team on the brink of a championship, but first, he had to integrate himself with his teammates.
“I think it’s important to be self-aware and understand how you fit,” Cousins said. “In ’18, I wasn’t going to show up and say, ‘Hey, you guys just went 13-3; I have all these good ideas, listen to me.’
“There’s a little bit of, ‘How do I fit into this puzzle?’ Now that three years have passed, my fourth season, there’s a little bit more ability to have assimilated and understand how this organization works, how you fit in that puzzle. We’ve been through four coordinators in that time too, so there’s a lot of change, and it’s always a moving target as to what things look like.”
Now he has Klint Kubiak as his coordinator, who previously was his quarterbacks’ coach and believes in him. It also helps to have a rapport with Garrett Bradbury, and while he’d probably love to have Irv Smith Jr. as a safety blanket, Tyler Conklin offers something in the passing game. He’s also got the same set of stars — Adam Thielen, Jefferson, and Cook — around him and has started watching film with Zimmer to ensure they’re on the same page.
Cousins hasn’t suddenly become a top-five quarterback in the league. He’s not going to elevate the Vikings beyond what they are. But he’s been put in a position to succeed, and therefore, he’s not going to hold them back. Everyone knew who Cousins was when he arrived. He hasn’t changed, and he should never have been expected to.
