{"id":772651,"date":"2026-02-24T07:08:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T07:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772651\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T07:08:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T07:08:22","slug":"vikings-predicted-to-sign-kirk-cousins-as-qb-competition-for-j-j-mccarthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772651\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Predicted to Sign Kirk Cousins as QB Competition for J.J. McCarthy"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s no doubt Minnesota Vikings<\/a> quarterback J.J. McCarthy<\/a> struggled last season. He made 10 starts, completing 140-of-243 passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 72.6 passer rating.<\/p>\n

It was his first year as the team’s starter, replacing Sam Darnold, who had departed for the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> last offseason. With the Vikings firing general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, it’s expected that the Vikings will bring in some new competition.<\/p>\n

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In fact, Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna predicts<\/a> that Minnesota will sign four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins, who is set to be released by the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> before the new league year begins on March 11.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9)Yannick Peterhans &sol; USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Yannick Peterhans &sol; USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

“If coach Kevin O\u2019Connell had the choice between Aaron Rodgers<\/a> and Cousins, it wouldn\u2019t be an easy choice… Ultimately, the Vikings have to operate as if J.J. McCarthy isn\u2019t the answer,” McKenna wrote. “And so I think they pounce on Cousins, the all-around safer pick (compared to Rodgers and McCarthy). Cousins will get O\u2019Connell\u2019s system humming again.”<\/p>\n

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It’s a pairing that has been speculated for some time. CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan previously listed<\/a> the Vikings as a potential landing spot for Cousins. He’s already familiar with the team, playing for Minnesota from 2018 to 2023. Two of those seasons (2022 and 2023) also came under O’Connell.<\/p>\n

Cousins was serviceable for the Falcons last season. He appeared in 10 games, completing 166-of-269 passes for 1,721 yards<\/a>, 10 touchdowns, five interceptions and an 84.8 passer rating.<\/p>\n

Turning the offense around is a top priority for the Vikings. They finished 2025 ranked 26th in points per game (20.2<\/a>). Cousins could be a cheap option, with Spotrac<\/a> projecting the 37-year-old to sign a one-year, $10.7 million deal. Even if he doesn’t perform well, it adds a veteran presence alongside McCarthy, who is entering his third season.<\/p>\n

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Related: Cowboys Predicted to Add 1,300-Yard RB After Javonte Williams News<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There’s no doubt Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy struggled last season. He made 10 starts, completing 140-of-243 passes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[1586,254,7,18635,1519,6192,294,233,259,2529,6,19010,1878,261,8998,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-772651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-henry-mckenna","12":"tag-j-j-mccarthy","13":"tag-kevin-oconnell","14":"tag-kirk-cousins","15":"tag-minnesota","16":"tag-minnesota-vikings","17":"tag-minnesotavikings","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-passer-rating","20":"tag-sam-darnold","21":"tag-seattle-seahawks","22":"tag-tyler-sullivan","23":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116124353867047207","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}