Vikings – Page 41 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

’50-50′ QB Kirk Cousins Gets Extension Prior to Season?

Posted on May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins is signed only through the coming season and the presumption is Vikings management will let things play out to decide about future interest in the 34-year-old quarterback. But a former pro football authority isn’t so sure and thinks it’s “50-50” an extension could be agreed to between now and the team’s first regular season game September 10 in Minneapolis.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened before the season since they didn’t draft anybody high and he’s still to me a top 10 to 12 quarterback in the league,” said the ex-NFL team executive who spoke to Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity.

The Vikings drafted Brigham Young QB Jaren Hall in the fifth-round last month. How he will develop is unknown, but odds are that even in a best-case scenario he won’t be ready to succeed Cousins in 2024.

Cousins earns $35 million this year before pending free agency in 2024. A one- or two-year extension is likely to pay him $40 to $45 million annually.

The source referenced here said the Vikings may be taking a wait-and-see approach on the veteran’s performance during the coming season. “But where are they going to find someone better than him?” he asked.

While Cousins likely will be with the team for a while, leading rusher Dalvin Cook’s exit appears soon. “I think they tried to trade him during the draft, and I think Miami was a target,” the source said.

Instead of a trade, the Dolphins drafted a running back on the third round and passed on the 27-year-old Cook who four times in his career has rushed for over 1,000 yards (most recently 1,177). “But the problem with Dalvin is that I don’t think anyone wants to trade for him and pay him $11 million bucks this year because the running back market is so depressed compared to other positions—which is really not fair—but that’s the way it is,” said the authority.

The Vikings appear convinced Cook’s contract is too much of a burden on their payroll and salary cap situation. To trade him for a future draft choice might require helping pay the other team for Cook’s compensation. The best window for a trade could be during training camp if another team is on the spot because of running back injuries.

Earlier this month the Vikings did agree to pay part of linebacker Za’Darius Smith’s compensation in a trade with the Browns. That helped with Minnesota’s salary cap space (reportedly now at over $13 million), as would moving on from Cook.

But the deal with the Browns that brought future draft picks to the Vikings left Minnesota with pass rushing concerns, a Smith specialty. Could Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah be looking at Ravens free agent linebacker Justin Houston?

Houston had 9.5 sacks last season and is known as a pass rushing specialist. “Yeah, he’s 34 years old but on a one year deal he could be a guy that could really…be a great signing,” said the authority quoted previously.

The former NFL executive has another defensive concern about the Vikings, and it was a suspect area last season, too. “I think the cornerback situation is still very questionable for the team.”

His first-round selection for the Vikings in the April draft would have been cornerback Deonte Banks from Maryland, rather than WR Jordan Addison of USC. The Giants, picking one spot behind the Vikings, took Banks at No. 24.

Minnesota chose USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon in the third round but how much of a contribution can he make as a rookie? The core of the Vikings’ cornerback roster consists of second year players Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans, and five year talented vet Byron Murphy who signed on as a free agent in March.

“So, they’re counting on these three guys that were all hurt last year. Booth was hurt all through college, too,” the source said. “…They really have to get fortunate with those guys staying healthy and coming on this year or they’re going to be in trouble in the secondary again.”

Worth Noting

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, writing yesterday about the job security of MLB managers, said Rocco Baldelli “appears secure.” He wrote that before last season the Twins manager received a contract extension of unknown length but at least through 2025.

Former Twins executive Terry Ryan is the latest guest on “Behind the Game” with hosts Bill Robertson and Patrick Klinger. Ryan talks about baseball’s rule changes and other topics on the TV show that can be viewed by clicking on this link https://youtu.be/Oyje7-3Yhng

Congratulations to coach Martin Hyndman and his rowers from the University of Minnesota who won the American Collegiate Rowing Association national championship last weekend in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Men’s rowing will gain attention later this year when the movie Boys in the Boat is released and tells the story of the University of Washington team that won gold in the 1936 Olympics held in Adolph Hitler’s Berlin, Germany.

USA Basketball recently announced the men’s 2023 USA 3×3 World Cup team that will participate in the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup May 30-June 4 in Vienna, Austria. The roster includes former Iowa Wolves player Canyon Barry, along with Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis.

Larry Higgins is asking if any Sports Headliners readers have film or video of the 1961 state championship basketball game when his Bemidji High team almost upset Duluth Central in a controversial finish. Central, trailing late in the game, won 51-50 and finished with a 27-0 record.

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Opportunity Looms in 2023 for Cousins

Posted on May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 by David Shama

The coming NFL season will be intriguing to watch quarterback Kirk Cousins because he finally has continuity with his offensive coordinators and systems.

The payoff could be special for the 34-year-old veteran who joined the Vikings in 2018. Entering last season, he had worked for five coordinators in his first five years. Now he is in preparations for a second go-round with offensive guru and head coach Kevin O’Connell who is also Cousins’ play-caller.

“Big difference in the second year for a QB in the same system,” a former coach said in a text message to Sports Headliners that has been edited. “All the off-season practices and film sessions add up, repetition matters. It also is easier to add wrinkles and make adjustments. Though Kirk has many years of experience in different systems, the second season will give him a level of comfort, which will lead to faster timing and decision making.

“Even a bigger deal, this is coach O’Connell’s second season in his system. He has never called plays before (the 2022 season) and I’m sure he will add wrinkles from his past systems he has been part of over the years.

“Just hope he doesn’t follow the ‘book’ when it comes to fourth down! The book is just a suggestion, not an absolute. Should be a very explosive offense and just need to outscore teams. After all, everyone loves offense!”

The reference to the “book” is the analytics NFL and college football coaches use to make key fourth down decisions, including whether to punt or try for a first down. While the stats indicate the probabilities of success in a fourth down situation, they aren’t infallible. There are so many variables in a football game—personnel, score of the game, field position etc.—that taking a conservative approach can be the best decision no matter what the home crowd is imploring, and the analytics say.

Cousins said he didn’t even know how to say the plays and couldn’t see them in his head a year ago. “It’s just night and day from last year,” he said in early May.

Cousins faces a 2023 season that could be a career highlight in offensive production, team success and for his national profile. His accurate throws and strong arm will likely target the most explosive group of receivers he has ever worked with. Justin Jefferson is all-world, rookie Jordan Addison has the potential to be a home run target like Jefferson, and third wide receiver K.J. Osborn at 25 is coming off his best season. T.J. Hockenson is a big play threat for a tight end and his familiarity with Cousins and the offense should be improved after joining the team during the 2022 season.

Then, too, the offensive line could be the best Cousins has worked with in Minneapolis. Tackles Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw are highly praised and center Garrett Bradbury silenced some critics in 2022. Guard play is a work in progress.

The Vikings won 13 regular season games in their first time around under Connell but took an early exit in the playoffs. The play of Cousins, who threw for a career high 4,547 yards in 2022, will again have much to do with whether the team wins 10 games or more. But it’s just as much about how far Minnesota goes in the postseason. Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019 and hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in more than 40 years.

The Cousins watch will be fascinating when his team plays against some of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks. In the second game of the season on a Thursday night before a national TV audience the Vikings play in Philadelphia against the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts who could be the best quarterback in the NFC after a dominant passing and running performance in 2022. Then Justin Herbert, a top 10 talent, comes to Minneapolis with the Chargers on September 24. Two weeks later the world champion Chiefs are in town with Patrick Mahomes, the 2022 league MVP. If Mahomes doesn’t earn that recognition again, quarterback Joe Burrow might. The Vikings play Burrow’s Bengals in Cincinnati December 17.

And there’s also a November 19 date in Denver to play the Broncos and former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson. “They’re going to play five elite Pro Bowl type quarterbacks,” said a former NFL executive who has ranked Cousins among the top dozen at his position in the league.

Cousins, though, won’t draw comparisons to Aaron Rodgers this year. The former Packers quarterback, who Cousins and the Vikings had to duel with twice per season as part of their past NFC North Division schedules, is now with the Jets and not on Minnesota’s list of opponents. Rodgers’ absence creates opportunity and expectations for Cousins and the Vikings, including a repeat of last season’s division championship.

Part of the looming opportunity, too, for Cousins is playing for his next contract. This off-season he and the Vikings didn’t agree on a contract extension. The former fourth round draft choice of the Redskins, has had to prove himself before in both college and in the NFL, and so this fall is more of the same. “…Wanting to go out there and prove it again, and do it again, and play at the highest level I can, and that’s really where my focus is,” Cousins said.

Minnesota’s quarterback could see his fame and profile enhance with a soon to be released Netflix film called Quarterback. Netflix had inside access last season to Cousins on and off the field as part of a film that also included Mahomes and Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The quarterbacks were mic’d up for every game including the Cousins-led greatest comeback in NFL history when the Vikings rallied to defeat the Colts after trailing 33-0 at halftime. The docu-series will show Cousins and the others in all kinds of situations from the huddle to inside their homes with families.

The humblest of celebrities, Cousins has never sought the spotlight with the Vikings but the nature of his position and circumstances in 2023 have him poised to be the center of much attention.

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Twins Won’t Rush Royce Lewis to Bigs

Posted on May 14, 2023May 21, 2023 by David Shama

Royce Lewis made his 2023 debut Thursday night with Double-A Wichita after rehabbing in Florida earlier this spring. Lewis, who figures to play shortstop and third base for the Twins’ minor league farm team, struck out three times and was hit by a pitch. He cleanly handled one chance in the field at third base.

Not a “wow start,” but predictable for a player on recovery road. And Saturday was better, with Lewis having two hits in three at bats and driving in a run for the Wind Surge.

Last year Lewis had ACL surgery on his right knee for a second time, having also suffered a tear requiring surgery in 2021. Understandably the Twins’ approach with Lewis is cautious. “He will come out of games early, then get a day off,” Twins executive Derek Falvey told Sports Headliners. … ”It’s really a slow ramp up for him.”

It’s been a weird path the last few years for Lewis. He and other minor leaguers didn’t play during the 2020 COVID year. He missed all of 2021 because of the first ACL injury. Then last year after being promoted from Triple-A to the Twins he suffered that second ACL injury on May 29.

“We want to be very attentive to the return (in 2023),” said Falvey, the team’s chief baseball officer. “Maybe even more conservative than you might normally be. I think just putting him in the best position to be healthy.”

Falvey said there is no timetable for a return by Lewis to the Twins. That will be determined by “health, performance and opportunity,” Falvey explained.

At 23, Lewis is still considered among Minnesota’s most valued prospects, but will he retain the athleticism and other attributes that convinced the Twins to make him their No. 1 draft pick in 2017? Will he, for instance, have the same elite range in the field that made him both a special infield and outfield prospect? The same pop in his bat that he showed in 12 games with the Twins last season, hitting .300 with two home runs and five RBI?

After two surgeries and so much time off, those are unanswerable questions now. Falvey said, “But in theory it’s fixed. It’s not a muscle injury. It’s a ligament. So ultimately when the ligament is fixed his athleticism, his burst, his speed, his power should all be the same. We just need to keep him as healthy as possible.”

The Twins are struggling to score runs and the kind of bat Lewis showed last season would be welcome. After hitting .313 in 34 games at Triple- A St. Paul, Lewis teased Twins fans with his potential at bat and in the field where he played 11 games at short and one in center field.

The Twins could have an ASAP need at third base this season. After an impressive rookie season in 2022, Jose Miranda got off to a disappointing start hitting and in the field before being demoted to St. Paul. Kyle Farmer, 32, is the replacement for now but not long term.

Falvey said the front office and Lewis have also talked about the native Californian playing in the outfield. “He is such an eager kid. He just wants to find a way to help the team,” Falvey said.

Hopefully, Lewis finds his spot with the Twins and has a long run with the club, but Falvey pointed out the uncertainty of big-league baseball careers. He said this spring MLB’s 30 teams only have about 4.5 players on their rosters who played for them in 2019. The Twins have three 2019 alums from the opening day roster: second baseman Jorge Polanco who was a shortstop then, DH Byron Buxton who was the centerfielder, and right fielder Max Kepler who is still in the same position.

Worth Noting

Lewis is considered the Twins’ No. 2 prospect behind Brooks Lee, the club’s 2022 No. 1 draft choice. His background, too, is shortstop and he is also at Wichita. Falvey told Lee in spring training he didn’t care if the Cal Poly alum hit “.100 or .700,” he just wanted him to learn from veterans like shortstop Carlos Correa and Buxton about how to prepare and be a big leaguer.

Lee hit .303 with three minor league teams last year and is off to a .258 start this spring. He is an impressive athlete who can help a team in multiple ways including in the field. “I think this kid is a big part of our future,” Falvey said.

Former Twins infielder and 2022 AL batting champion Luis Arraez is leading the majors in hitting with a .379 average. Pitcher Pablo Lopez, who the Twins acquired during the offseason in a trade sending Arraez to the Marlins, is 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA.

Falvey said the Twins tried to make different deals “without Luie in it but couldn’t.” He added the Marlins, in need of offense, were “fixated on Luie and we were fixated on Pablo.” The Twins believe high performance starting pitching is difficult to find.

Since the trade the Twins have reached agreement with Lopez on a four-year contract extension that commits him from 2024-2027. Falvey doesn’t anticipate any similar deals during the rest of the season including with pitcher Sonny Gray who has been dominant with a 1.39 ERA and 4-0 record. He is a free agent in the fall.

Not only has Gray been the team’s best pitcher but he contributes to a healthy environment in the clubhouse. “Sonny gets along with everybody. He engages with everybody in the room,” Falvey said.

In last year’s draft the Twins selected Ben Ross in the fifth round out of Notre Dame College in Ohio (yes, that is correct). Another shortstop, Ross is hitting .308 at High-A Twins affiliate Cedar Rapids and committed only one error in the field.

The late Herb Carneal would have turned 100 last Wednesday. The radio voice of the Twins for 45 seasons, Carneal started broadcasting games for the club in 1962, one year after the franchise relocated to Minnesota from Washington D.C.

Danny Olsen is the new Eastview High School boys’ basketball coach, replacing long-time and much-admired head coach Paul Goetz. Olsen, a 1999 Eastview grad, has extensive AAU and high school coaching experience. The last 10 years he has been the head sophomore coach at Eastview and a varsity assistant.

Dick Jonckowski shares emcee duties with sports columnist Charley Walters Monday night at the 37^th annual Mancini’s Sports Hall of Fame dinner at Mancini’s Char House in St. Paul. Former Cretin Derham-Hall quarterback Steve Walsh, who played at Miami and in the NFL, is among the inductees.

Jonckowski will emcee and speak Friday night in Fridley at the Minnesota Senior Sports Association’s seventh annual Hall of Fame banquet. The event at the Banquets of Minnesota facility honors individuals and teams from various recreational sports.

Reservations are still being accepted for the May 21 tribute to the late Bud Grant, the Vikings’ legendary coach. The free event at U.S. Bank Stadium begins at noon and requires a ticket. http://www.vikings.com/legends/bud-grant

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