Minnesota Vikings: Offseason Panic Mode 2021 Edition

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t look like a team that was recently playoff contenders in 2020. They may have an uphill battle in 2021 if they want to avoid panic mode.

Kirk Cousins Isn’t It

Like many NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings are finding out that the quarterback they invested in isn’t the one to lead them to the promised lands. Kirk Cousin has been average at best and Minnesota paid him a fully guaranteed contract through 2022. The even bigger problem is it’s a backloaded contract. If Minnesota wants to get out from under it, they’d have to find a team to take on a $35 million base salary/$10 million signing bonus. Who is going to trade for a QB making $45 million dollars who can barely get a team to the playoffs let alone win them?

Line Before Playmakers

It seems like another year has gone by and the Vikings still haven’t solved their offensive line problem. Since they’ll more than likely have to roll out with Kirk Cousins again, they’ll need to find ways to give him more time to make plays. Doing so, they’ll either have to invest in free agent lineman or draft big names early on. With every investment in a big body, they’ll bump their defensive playmakers down the priority list. Since Cousins isn’t quite elite, they’ll have to find a diamond in the rough to change his play.

More NFL: Has Kirk Cousins Embraced His Role?

Finding Bargains

Minnesota is in the bottom third of the league when it comes to cap space. Investing so heavily in their win-now strategy has put them in a bad position. Add to the fact that they didn’t win and it seems like they’ve made a lot of bad investments. They won’t need a full breakdown and rebuild but it might take some back of their career veterans to pull this team back from the brink. Having little cap space they’ll have to continue to make tough cuts and find transition players who can make an immediate impact for a low dollar value.

Balanced Football

It would be easy to just tee off on Cousins based on the contract the Vikings gave him, but its not the only issue. Despite having an okay season, his defense often let him down. The unit finished the season allowing the fifth-most yards per play (6.1). Getting pressure wasn’t much better finishing with just 23 sacks on the season. You have to give credit where it is due, they did manage to force 15 interceptions, but imagine how many more they could have had with a bit more pressure.

Minnesota used to have one of the best defenses in football. If they want to get back to their winning ways they’ll have to make the decision where to sacrifice. They could use more help defensively, but cutting Mason Rudolph will put pressure on receivers to continue their productivity. 2021 isn’t a total lost cause, but the Vikings will have to have an ace up their sleeve to keep fans from panicking.