Tag: Kirk Cousins

Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best

Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.

Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.

He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.

Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.

All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.

By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.

To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.

With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:

32. Miami Dolphins

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Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.

31. Chicago Bears

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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.

30. Cincinnati Bengals

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Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”

29. Washington Redskins

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The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.

28-25 / 24-21 / 20-17 / 16-13 / 12-9 / 8-5 / 4-1

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Vikings offense set to get star receiver back at the right time 

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring in Week 7 while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions.

The bye week is here for the Minnesota Vikings, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The team has won six of their last seven games, and four of their last five without their star receiver.

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, and tried to come back too early against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. The Vikings have played well without Thielen, but there have been moments his absence has limited the offense. 

During the recording of Under Center on Monday Morning with Kirk Cousins and Mark Rosen, Cousins said the team will be getting its receiver back when the team travels to Seattle. 

While Thielen has been a go-to target for Cousins, and proven that he is a top ten receiver in the NFL, other names have stepped up in his absence. 

The Vikings wouldn’t be sitting at 8-3 if it wasn’t for the recent explosion of the tight end position. Both Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. have made big play after big play. Bisi Johnson has proven he is a legitimate third wide receiver and Stefon Diggs has continued to gash defenses with his elite route running. The pass catching group has proven that they can hold their own, even without one of the leagues best over the last five weeks. 

Not only did the receivers prove they have more depth than originally believed, but the running back tandem of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison have proven that they are one of the top one-two punches in the league. The two have combined for 1, 411 yards, providing one of the most balanced attacks in the NFL. 

Adding Thielen back into this mix, alongside a quarterback that has entered the MVP conversation, is a recipe for even more success for the Vikings offense. In the Mike Zimmer era, the team has prided itself of a strong defense. The defense will need to continue to improve, but it looks as if the offense is the strong suit to the 2019 Vikings.

Kirk Cousins deserves his name in the MVP talks 

Leading up to Week 11 of the NFL season, ESPN and their NFL experts came up with a top five MVP watch list. Over the last few weeks, two names have emerged as front runners for the MVP award. Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson have both been playing …

Leading up to Week 11 of the NFL season, ESPN and their NFL experts came up with a top five MVP watch list. Over the last few weeks, two names have emerged as front runners for the MVP award. 

Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson have both been playing MVP worthy football, and as of right now it looks like one of them will end up winning the honors. However, ESPN included five different names in their watch list. 

After the Sunday slate of games in Week 11, ESPN also released the current MVP odds.

All of the names listed above have been having an outstanding season thus far, but Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins needs to be added to the list. 

Through 11 games this season, Cousins has completed 226 of his 320 passes for 2,756 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has also completed over 70 percent of his passes with a passer rating of 114.8, while only throwing three interceptions all season. 

Cousins numbers stack up right with his NFC North rival Aaron Rodgers, who made ESPN’s list of MVP candidates.

Rodgers has played one less game than Cousins, but their numbers are extremely similar. Through 10 games, Rodgers has completed 225 of his 347 passes for 2,718 yards and 17 touchdowns. Where Cousins edges out Rodgers is with his completion percentage and passer rating. Rodgers has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes with a rating of 102.7.

Rodgers has already won the MVP twice, and been an elite talent in the league since he took over the starting duties in Green Bay. However that shouldn’t negate the fact that Cousins has played just as well as him not only in 2019, but since he arrived in Minnesota. 

The Vikings are coming off a 27-23 victory over the Denver Broncos, a game in which Cousins proved he was worth every penny of his $84 million contract. After a disappointing start to the game, the Vikings found themselves in a 20-0 hole at halftime. They started the third quarter in a hurry, coming out in a two-minute offense and scoring on the first drive. 

After his first touchdown to Irv Smith Jr., Cousins didn’t look back. He finished off the 27 point comeback by completing 18 of his 23 attempts for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns and helped his team find the end zone on every drive in the second half. He did all of this against a great defense, with almost no help from the run game and without his No. 1 receiver in Adam Thielen. 

In back-to-back weeks, Cousins has now won on the road against a team with a winning record, won a primetime game and completely carried his team to a comeback that’s more impressive than any in the last 40 years.

It’s time for the narratives on the Vikings’ quarterback to change. Cousins has beaten every single narrative he has been given in his career in 2019, and has shown no signs of slowing down. When he arrived in Minnesota, one of his biggest concerns was how often he turns the ball over. 

In his last 177 pass attempts, Cousins has not thrown an interception, a stat that leads all quarterbacks in the NFL. It should also be noted that the last interception he threw was a ball that slipped between the hands of Stefon Diggs, so the streak could be even longer. 

Not only has he limited the interceptions, but he is also making some insane throws. Head coach Mike Zimmer talked about how impressive the Broncos game was for Cousins in his press conference on Monday. 

 

Cousins has had his ups and downs in Minnesota, but statistically speaking he is on pace to not only have a great season, but also have one of the best seasons in Vikings history. It is time to negate the narratives that hang over Cousins head, and put his name alongside the other candidates for MVP of the 2019 season. 

Twitter recap of Broncos’ 27-23 loss to Vikings

The Vikings overcame a 20-0 deficit to beat the Broncos in Week 11. No other team has overcome such a large deficit since the 2014 season.

If each half counted as a game, the Denver Broncos would have added one victory and one loss to the club’s season record on Sunday. But taken as a whole, the Broncos lost 27-23 to the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. Playing their best half of the season and leading 20-0 at halftime, the Broncos proceeded to play their worst half for the remainder of the game.

Previous to this Sunday, no NFL team has lost after a 20-or-more point halftime lead since the San Francisco 49ers fell to the then-San Diego Chargers in the 2014 season. Teams leading 20-or-more points at halftime have been 95-1 since the start of 2015.

Here is the Twitter recap of the up-and-down game.

The Broncos offense played its best half of the season, moving the ball both in the air and on the ground. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s play-calling looked sharp. Quarterback Brandon Allen was crisp in his decision making and accurate with this throws.

Defensive lineman Mike Purcell bruised his ribs, but he later returned to the game.

Linebacker Von Miller was also sharp, sacking his 50th NFL quarterback.

Receiver Courtland Sutton was also a great passer in the game.

Fullback Andy Janovich was very effective in both special teams and offensive plays.

Defensive lineman Shelby Harris had his first strip-sack of his career.

The Broncos may have suffered a big loss if Janovich has a season-ending injury.

At halftime, the Broncos led 20-0.  Offensively, the Broncos gained 217 yards to the Vikings’ 47. Allen went 7-of-17 passing for 104 yards. Sutton had 48 yards receiving and 38 yards passing.

Even Pro Bowler cornerback Chris Harris Jr. could not stem the Broncos defensive slide in the second half.

Offensive tackle Garett Bolles continued his penalty-prone ways in the game.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins ultimately had an outstanding game, going 29-for-35 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 133.2 rating.

Allen, in comparison, played adequately well by throwing 17-for-39, with one touchdown and one interception, and a 61.9 rating.

The loss essentially eliminates the Broncos from the playoffs. Next week, the Broncos have another away game against the Buffalo Bills.

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9 things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11

Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins are the headliners on the list of things we learned in Week 11 of the 2019 NFL season.

Here are nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11 and what they mean for the future:

9. Changing of the QB in Chicago?

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

After the Rams took a 17-10 lead with less than four minutes left, the Bears surprisingly yanked quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and inserted backup Chase Daniel. It didn’t help, but it spoke volumes. Trubisky had no apparent injury. But, like he has been most of the season, Trubisky was ineffective. He completed 24 of 43 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Daniel is not a long-term answer. But, neither is Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017. His time in Chicago likely is coming to an end. The Bears almost certainly will sign a free agent (Teddy Bridgewater?) or draft a quarterback.

8. The Raiders are for real

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The Raiders have some of the most dedicated fans in the league. They never were a negative factor during the battle to get a new stadium in Oakland. That fiasco was between local government and the team. With the team moving to Las Vegas next year, wouldn’t it be nice to see Oakland fans enjoy a home playoff game before the team leaves? Winning the AFC West might be a stretch. But it’s no stretch to picture the Raiders in the playoffs. Sunday’s victory over winless Cincinnati might not seem like a huge deal. But it was important. The Raiders are 6-4 and very much in contention for the playoffs. Suddenly, their Dec. 1 game with Kansas City is looming large in the AFC West.

7. Kirk Cousins will get another huge contract

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota quarterback has been on fire since Week 5, after being publicly criticized by receiver Adam Thielen. Cousins had another big game Sunday, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 27-23 win over Denver after rallying from a 20-0 deficit. A lot of people laughed when the Vikings signed Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract last year. But no one is laughing now. Cousins still has next year left on the contract. But, if he keeps playing like he has been in recent weeks, Cousins will get an even bigger contract for 2021.

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Vikings vs. Broncos: A tale of two halves

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their …

The Minnesota Vikings got off to their slowest start of the season Sunday afternoon, falling behind the Denver Broncos 20-0 in the first half. The Broncos were able to expose the Vikings secondary, while the Vikings offense just couldn’t find their rhythm. 

At halftime, the Vikings made some adjustments that clearly paid off as they outscored the Broncos 27-3 in the second half. In the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings hadn’t won a game after being down 20 or more points.

It was a completely different team in the second half, where the Vikings did something no other team has done in the past 40 years. 

A huge reason for the success in the second half was due to the great performance by Kirk Cousins, who finished his day 29-35 with 319 yards and three touchdowns. 

In the second half, Cousins looked as good as any quarterback in the NFL, delivering a few of his best-thrown balls in a Vikings uniform. 

Without the strong play of Cousins against a solid Denver defense, Vikings fans would have left U.S. Bank Stadium with the same feeling they had at halftime. 

The secondary was a weak point throughout the game, but they stepped up when it mattered most. Jayron Kearse, who finished the Cowboys game intercepting the Hail Mary attempt, sealed the game again today by breaking up a pass attempt to Noah Fant. 

With Harrison Smith going down with a hamstring injury, and Anthony Harris already sidelined to start the game, someone needed to step up in the secondary. Kearse, the former seventh-round pick out of Clemson, did exactly that making multiple plays in the final minutes of the game. 

The Vikings are now heading into their bye week, which couldn’t have come at a better time. With so many Vikings starters hurt, this week will be crucial for their healing process. In two weeks, the Vikings travel to Seattle for a Monday night matchup between two of the hottest quarterbacks in football in Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson.

Kirk Cousins comes up clutch in Vikings’ historic comeback win over Broncos

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

If you were out doing yard work during the first half of the Vikings and Broncos game on Sunday, good job by you.

Hopefully you didn’t miss the second half, though.

The Vikings came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 on the shoulders of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Cousins threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win – 261 of those yards and all three touchdowns came in the second half when Minnesota had its back against the wall.

There will be the Cousins haters out there surely, claiming that the Vikings should have never been down by 20 in the first place. But after a primetime win last week and a comeback win on Sunday, you have to feel pretty good about Cousins if you’re a Vikings fan. And he’s done this without his top receiver, Adam Thielen, in the lineup.

On the season, Cousins has thrown for 2,756 yards, 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions. That puts him on pace for 4,008 yards and 30 touchdowns. More importantly, he has the Vikings out to an 8-3 record going into their Week 12 bye week.

Irish in the NFL: Rudolph Puts Vikings in Front

Make that five times now in his last five games.

Last week we discussed how Kyle Rudolph had turned a corner after he pulled down a pair of one-yard touchdowns in Minnesota’s victory Sunday night at Dallas.

Despite a slow start that saw him fail to get in the end zone through six games, Rudolph managed to find pay-dirt four times in the four games since.

Well.

Make that five times in his last five games.

The Vikings got off to an incredibly slow start Sunday against the underdog Broncos, falling behind 20-0 on their home field by halftime.

The Vikings came marching back in the second half before Rudolph put them in front for the first time all day.

Tight End U at it again as the Vikings held on to win, 27-23.

Vikings activate WR Josh Doctson to 53-man roster

The Vikings have finally activated wide receiver Josh Doctson (hamstring) from the injured reserve.

The Vikings have finally activated wide receiver Josh Doctson (hamstring) from the injured reserve.

He’s now eligible to play in Week 11 against the Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

This move isn’t a huge surprise with the Vikings releasing wide receiver Davion Davis (who later signed on the practice squad) to make room for Doctson.

The team signed Doctson prior to the season after he was released by the Redskins.

Doctson was the 22nd-overall pick by the Redskins in the 2016 NFL Draft, just a spot ahead of Laquon Treadwell, who is now his teammate.

In his three seasons with Washington, Doctson had 81 receptions for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. He played the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Kirk Cousins at the helm of Washington’s offense.

If active on Sunday, he’ll join Stefon Diggs, Bisi Johnson and Treadwell as healthy receivers on the roster. Adam Thielen (hamstring) has already been listed as out.

Broncos OLB Von Miller a big fan of Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

“[I] was trying to get this guy here, had a whole campaign to get this guy here two years ago,” Von Miller said of Kirk Cousins.

The Broncos will travel to Minnesota in Week 11 to face the Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who outside linebacker Von Miller tried to recruit to Denver in 2018. Cousins instead signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings and the Broncos signed Case Keenum to a two-year, $36 million deal.

“Kirk Cousins, [I] was trying to get this guy here, had a whole campaign to get this guy here two years ago,” Miller said Thursday. “You know how I feel about him. I think he’s a great quarterback.”

Cousins’ contract with Minnesota is guaranteed and the QB has faced some criticism for his numbers not living up to his contract. Cousins threw 10 interceptions last year and lost seven fumbles. The Vikings finished the season 8-7-1, a disappointment after reaching the NFC Championship game in 2017.

Miller doesn’t think it’s completely fair to judge Cousins based on his contract, though.

“Sometimes you can’t really go off of contracts,” Miller said. “Some of these contracts are off timing and opportunity. In the NFL if it’s right for you, then boom. You can’t really just go off of that, but he’s playing — in my eyes, he’s playing well for their team.”

Cousins is arguably performing at a higher level this year than he was last season. The 31-year-old QB has thrown just three interceptions through 10 games and has helped Minnesota to a 7-3 record. Miller knows Cousins will be a tough test for Denver’s defense on Sunday.

“He’s got their team in contention to go to the playoffs and do some stuff after that,” Miller said. “In my eyes he’s playing great.”

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