Not everyone was excited when the Minnesota Vikings decided to extend Kirk Cousins for another year with both a pay bump and a no trade clause in his contract.
The pitch forks came out in droves as naysayers hopped on social media to condemn the team for the signing. Meanwhile, Cousins sat back quietly without really acknowledging any of the criticisms hurled in his direction.
Leave it to America’s best talking head in sports, Pat McAfee, to get him to open up more during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. When asked if he hears the criticisms and whether he feels like he gets the respect he deserves, Cousins dropped his guard a bit.
“I don’t live in a box where I don’t hear anything. But certainly winning is kind of the deal,” said Cousins. “You could be a pretty bad quarterback, but if your team wins, you’re the man. And people who know can kind of see through that. They watch the tape and they’re like, ‘I don’t think they’re winning because of the quarterback, but good for him that people are in his corner.’
“And I think the opposite can be true, too. When you’re the quarterback, it doesn’t really matter what you do or how you play if your team is not going to the playoffs, winning the division, playing in the Super Bowl—there’s something wrong with you. …You don’t really expect people to be in your corner unless you’re winning and winning consistently.”
The Vikings have failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Even after a great statistical season from Cousins, who nabbed his third Pro Bowl invite, the team as whole hasn’t been able to get the job done on the field.
Maybe that all changes with Kevin O’Connell stepping in as the new head coach. Perhaps this is the year where the results as a team mirror the 4,221 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions Cousins threw in 2021.
Maybe, just maybe, the pitch forks go back in the closet in 2022.
