The Vikings beat the arch-rival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field today by a score of 24-10, but it came at a huge cost- Kirk Cousins is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. As a fan, this injury makes the win feel like a gut-punching loss.
Everyone knew that this would likely be Kirk’s last year with the Vikings, as he is slated to be a free agent next year and the front office didn’t appear interested in signing him to a long term extension. Some people, myself included, advocated for the team to trade him after our terrible start to the season in order to tank for one of the top QB prospects in next year’s draft. Well, those wishes have been granted, albeit in the worst way possible.
It’s highly possible that this very well might be the end of the Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota, and if it is, what a cruel way to end six years of solid QB play. However, I wouldn’t want it to end any other way then by beating the Packers.
Kirk, I don’t know if you’ll be back after this season. If you’re not, I simply want to say thank you for everything. You were the QB when I became a Vikings fan and I loved having you as my team’s QB. The highs were high and the lows were low. I wish we could have had more success with you, but not everything results in roses and confetti. What I am thankful for is the stability that you provided us at the game’s most important position, something we’ve lacked since Fran Tarkenton.
There are countless great moments that Kirk had with this team- a few great victories over the Packers, the awesome Wild Card win over the Saints in 2019, and of course the electrifying 2022 season that was highlighted by the largest comeback in NFL history. We may not have reached the NFC Championship Game, but we still had a great share of memories from this era.
This is just me, but maybe this injury was inevitable. If you watched Netflix’s Quarterback documentary featuring Kirk, you knew about how many hits he took every year and how he didn’t miss a single snap despite how battered his body was. It seems as if putting the team on his back for all of these years finally caught up to him.
If this is really how it’s gonna end, thank you Kirk. Thank you for everything that you brought to our franchise. You will always be my QB.
