As Big Cat likes to say, “Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things.” Which means that, when dysfunctional things happen, it’s fair to wonder whether the team doing them is dysfunctional.
Case in point, Minnesota’s handling of the Kirk Cousins situation. In July 2022, G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made some comments suggesting that he doesn’t view Cousins as the long-term solution. O’Connell, by two weeks ago today, was completely and totally in support of the idea of keeping Cousins around.
The organization sent no clear signals to their fans or the media covering the team as to whether it wanted Cousins back. There was no sense from the team, before Monday afternoon, whether the winds were blowing one way or the other. As O’Connell explained the situation during his visit to PFT Live, it seemed that the Vikings had a contract (amount and structure) that it was ready to offer, and that if another team beats that offer and/or structure, so be it.
What did Minnesota offer to Cousins? That would shed plenty of light on whether they truly wanted to keep him. At one end of the spectrum is an offer that can’t be refused; at the other end is an offer that won’t be accepted. Did the Vikings make a perfunctory offer that basically invited him to find something better elsewhere?
While the offer would shed more light on the organizational attitude toward Cousins, the fact remains that the coach wanted him and someone else didn’t. The someone else was either Adofo-Mensah or ownership. If it’s the latter, the Wilfs should let their football people do their jobs. If it’s the former, it’s fair to wonder whether O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah are on the same page.
If they aren’t as to Cousins, are they as to other players, like receiver Justin Jefferson? O’Connell told us in Indianapolis that there have been no discussions about trading Jefferson. What if Adofo-Mensah decides that the only way to get in position to acquire a true franchise quarterback is to package Jefferson with the eleventh overall pick in the draft and move up?
Whatever the truth, the Cousins situation suggests that there’s division. Disagreement. Possibly, dysfunction. Unless O’Connell was just being nice and secretly wanted to move on from Cousins.
Time will tell whether and to what extent the decision to let Cousins walk away constitutes a “dysfunctional thing.” If it is, there will be more. Eventually, there will be enough to justify calling the Vikings a dysfunctional team.
