Wild – Page 2 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Cousins Injury Causes Major Implications for 2024

Posted on November 5, 2023November 7, 2023 by David Shama

The Vikings play the Falcons in Atlanta today without Kirk Cousins and with rookie Jaren Hall taking his place at starting quarterback. It was a stunning development seeing the 35-year-old Cousins tear his right Achilles in Green Bay last week.

Cousins played at a high level into the fourth quarter when he was injured. He had done more than enough to position the Vikings for a third consecutive win and even the season record at 4-4.

Coach Kevin O’Connell and the players knew Cousins was running the offense and passing the football like an All-Pro. Offensive guard Dalton Risner described Cousins as “a spectacular human being and an extraordinary quarterback.”

He told Sports Headliners “losing a guy like that is devastating” but he also expressed optimism. “Kirk is gonna be just fine but we gotta move forward. We gotta play for Kirk and play for this organization.”

This was Cousins’ team and his leadership showed. He even led the team in prayer before every game. Players joined him in reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Today’s game will be the first of nine where Cousins won’t be able to take the field while he rehabs from surgery. It’s anyone’s guess as to how he will be physically in 2024. Does he return with restrictions as to what his body can do? How soon could he be back on the practice field and game ready? If all goes well, who will he play for and at what level of compensation?

“Yes, with Kirk’s age and injury you don’t know if/when he will be 100 percent,” a football authority wrote via text to Sports Headliners. “Even worse (the) Vikes lost trade value, though (they)won’t have to pay market value to keep him. I think he likes raising family here and is a Midwest guy at heart, so he will stay if Vikes want to keep him.

“You won’t find many quarterbacks as accurate as Kirk (if protected). Troy Aikman bragged on Kirk all Monday night versus Niners (October 23) as he can see the value of Kirk’s skill set. Vikings fans will certainly gain appreciation over the next few weeks when they see the backup quarterbacks perform.

“Kirk makes many big-time throws look easy and fans have gotten used to those ‘easy’ completions. When you break down some of Kirk’s throws, his level of timing and accuracy are as good as it gets in the NFL. …It will be an interesting finish to the season.”

Cousins will be a free agent next year and he’s already thinking about a return to the field. It’s believed the Vikings are his first choice for 2024 and O’Connell is on record as wanting his guy back. O’Connell believes Cousins was having his best season, and he is left wondering what the Vikings might have achieved with a full season and playoffs with No. 8.

“Yeah, you guys (the media) know how I feel about Kirk,” O’Connell said last week. “Kirk knows how I feel about Kirk. I think he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League. …”

The Vikings ownership and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were unable to reach a contract extension last offseason with Cousins. Now the GM says all options are open as they were before the injury.

That, of course, is GM speak. The Vikings and Cousins will both evaluate his health next winter. Even if both parties are optimistic about future performance, the Vikings are all but certain to offer less money and perhaps contract length than before the surgery.

In 2023 Cousins is reportedly making $35 million on a one-year deal. He might ask for the same money in 2024 and want a two-year contract. The Vikings could be thinking of the $25 million range for one year. If Cousins had been able to play the entire season, he might have been looking for $38 million or more for a couple of years.

There’s no assurance Cousins will be back with Minnesota. The 49ers might be more likely than ever to land him. Second year QB Brock Purdy has created doubts this season as the 49ers have lost three consecutive games. His lack of accuracy in big moments and inability to rally the 49ers late in games has been a problem for a team otherwise loaded with talent and experience.

A move to the 49ers would be a reunion with head coach Kyle Shanahan who was offensive coordinator for the Redskins during Cousins’ first two seasons in the NFL, 2012 and 2013. Shanahan is a fan of Cousins and in California the veteran QB could be the last piece needed to win a Super Bowl.

The Vikings will sort through quarterbacks this fall including Hall and Josh Dobbs who they acquired in a trade with the Cardinals last week. Maybe they find something they like in them, or they could pursue a first-round QB in the 2024 NFL Draft. Those avenues might work, but if Cousins returns healthy, nobody they acquire will be better than No. 8 was during the last Sunday of October.

“I think Kirk will be back as good as ever,” Risner said. “Strong man of faith. He’s an extraordinary human being. A very hard worker and I can’t wait to see when he comes back. I hope I’m on the same team as Kirk Cousins.”

Worth Noting

With the trade of left guard Ezra Cleveland last week, there is no doubt Risner is the starter at that position. Risner didn’t sign with the Vikings until after the first two games of the season and he reportedly is on a one-year deal.

At first his playing time was limited. “I think that they wanted to give me time to get to know the playbook,” Risner said.

Risner also said that in the strong Vikings’ “culture” he wasn’t just going to be placed immediately in the starting lineup and coaches wanted him to “earn it and respect it.” Risner, a five-year veteran with the Broncos until this year, made his presence known. “So I put my head down when I got my opportunity. I tried to capitalize on it, and I think I did.”

The Vikings know they need to avoid the temptation to try too hard in making up for the absence of Cousins. “We each gotta stay composed and just try not to do too much because that’s when things fall apart,” Danielle Hunter told Sports Headliners.

The 29-year-old outside linebacker leads the NFL in sacks with 10, but he said there is no bonus in his contract to reward him if he is still on top at season’s end. His birthday was October 29 and although he missed major playing time in the past with injuries, he said if players take care of their bodies it’s “limitless” how long they can play.

“I’ve been feeling good,” Hunter said. “The training staff, the head coach, they do a good job of keeping us fresh. Enables us to go out there and play full speed.”

Hunter said his enthusiasm to play football remains high. It was there from the beginning and although there were doubters that just “fueled the fire.”

A sports industry source emailed with the prediction Twins radio play-by-play voice Cory Provus will soon be announced as the replacement for Dick Bremer on TV play-by-play. Provus joined the Twins radio broadcast team in 2012, while Bremer announced last week he was retiring from broadcasting after 40 years doing TV for the club. He is transitioning into a special assistant role in the front office.

Greg Eslinger, the former Gopher center and one of the most honored offensive linemen in Big Ten football history, will learn in January if he has been voted into the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Voting coordinated by the National Football Foundation is completed for candidates like Eslinger who in 2005 received the Outland Trophy (the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman) and the Rimington Trophy (the country’s best center). He was the 2005 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (only Gopher ever honored) and was awarded with the 2006 Big Ten Medal of Honor (the conference’s oldest and most prestigious award).

Alarming: announced attendance of 2,604 for the Gophers’ men’s basketball home exhibition game last Thursday night against Macalester.

Al Schoch, WCCO Radio news anchor/reporter, is one of the Minnesota Wild’s press box announcers. He also does public address work for Augsburg women’s basketball and Cretin-Derham Hall boys’ and girls’ basketball. The Pennsylvania native started doing public address work as a 15-year-old in Stroudsburg.

Word is the Bloomington-based CORES lunch program featuring prominent speakers, mostly from Minnesota sports, may have found new leadership. CORES didn’t have its regular meeting in September and has been seeking new organizers to continue. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators, and sports fans.

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Do Vikings Move on from Osborn Before Trade Deadline?

Posted on October 29, 2023October 29, 2023 by David Shama

With the NFL trade deadline coming Tuesday, this will be an intriguing few days for the Vikings and their rabid fanbase. Will the franchise be buyers or sellers? Or both?

The most likely storyline could be moving on from veteran wide receiver K.J. Osborn who will be a free agent after this season. The Vikings will have pressing payroll needs next offseason and Osborn looks expendable with the arrival of 2023 first round draft choice Jordan Addison.

Osborn, in his fourth NFL season, would be a welcome addition to any number of NFL clubs. In return the Vikings might receive a fourth, fifth or sixth round draft choice. His expected replacement in the Minnesota lineup would be Brandon Powell, a capable fifth year veteran and journeyman playing with his fourth NFL club.

Left guard Ezra Cleveland is another player rumored in trade discussions. Although he will also be a free agent next year, the Vikings should not move on from him and shake up their best guard depth and offensive line performance in years.

A Vikings victory over the Packers today in Green Bay will improve their record to 4-4, with the team having won four of its last five games. A scenario like that figures to weigh on GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah not altering his roster much other than to take the opportunity to move Osborn and add a quality cornerback.

The GM has shown a past willingness to trade with teams in his own division. Corner Jaylon Johnson from the Bears could be a target. He is an impressive cover man (a starter since Game 1 as a rookie in 2020) who didn’t reach agreement in the past offseason on a contract extension. The Bears could move on from him, with former Gopher Terell Smith, a fifth-round draft choice last spring, as the replacement.

An easier “get” at corner likely is Donte Jackson from winless (0-6) Carolina who could be thinking fire sale before the trade deadline. Jackson is no Johnson, but he is experienced with six years in the pros and inexpensive at reportedly about a $1 million salary.

Adofo-Mensah has made past in-season moves to improve the roster. In 2022 he sent third and fourth round draft choices to the Lions in return for upgrading the tight end position with the addition of T.J. Hockenson. Several weeks ago, the Vikings signed veteran free agent offensive lineman Dalton Risner, a former starter for the Broncos.

Worth Noting

With a touchdown catch today, Addison will become the sixth player in the Super Bowl era (1970 to present) to have at least seven receiving touchdowns in the first eight career games.

With 101 passing yards today, Viking quarterback Kirk Cousins will surpass Drew Brees (39,297 yards) for the third-most passing yards in a player’s first 150 career games in the NFL.

Looming over discussions and “mental gymnastics” involving salary cap numbers in the next offseason will be wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s contract extension. Most observers are surprised a new deal wasn’t done last summer. Why? Probably because the Vikings can make the numbers work better in 2024 with Jefferson targeting a deal to be the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

With Vikings’ safety Harrison Smith turning 35 in February, the Vikings may not need to look far for his replacement. They are scouting Gophers’ safety Tyler Nubin who could be a first-round draft choice with his skills and competitiveness.

The Vikings, who are third in the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns, have zero touchdowns running in seven games. No other team is without a TD running the football.

Roger Goodell’s contract extension through 2027 may end quiet speculation that Kevin Warren, the former Vikings executive now leading the Bears’ management, could one day succeed Goodell as NFL commissioner. Warren turns 60 next month.

Bad timing? Coach Bret Bielema, 9-0 against the Gophers while coaching at Wisconsin and now Illinois, had a bye last Saturday and extra time to prepare for the Illini’s game at Minnesota next Saturday, November 4.

While the Wild’s ownership and management has a focus on this season, they are also thinking about the next offseason. It’s then the club is finished with the $14.5 million buyout of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter that has limited payroll for acquiring new talent because of the NHL salary cap.

Owner Craig Leipold told Sports Headliners he anticipates the NHL increasing the salary cap for teams by about $5 million next year. That amount, combined with Parise-Suter savings, will give the Wild close to $20 million in new money, a total Leipold believes will be more than any team in the league. “Billy (Guerin) is already looking (at) who could be free agents at that time, and, you know, we’re going to be active,” Leipold said.

Guerin has been the general manager for more than four years. That experience with the organization is comforting to Leipold.

“I think Billy is one of the top GMs in the league, maybe the top. He’s got a great staff of young people who work in his organization in the analytics side and in the signing of players. So we’ve got a really good core of young people in hockey ops that are there to support Billy and everything that he is doing. We think that we’ve got a great organization and, you know, they’re ready to be active in (developing and acquiring) players.“

The Wild is off to a 3-3-2 record this fall. The owner is impressed with the culture of his club, including the enthusiasm. “It’s just so apparent that this team is going to be an exciting team and they genuinely like each other. … It’s fun to watch them when they’re not playing; when I can get a little closer to them and see how they’re reacting with each other. …”

Leipold has a favorite player, and the choice might surprise fans. Forward Mason Shaw, now with the Iowa Wild, has willed himself back from four ACL surgeries. Leipold describes Shaw’s determination to play on and be a contributor as infectious. “…He’s the kind of guy that you cheer for every day because he’s had some bad breaks thrown his way,” Leipold said.

Dick Jonckowski, who had 19 calls and nine texts of birthday wishes on his milestone 80^th last Sunday, will emcee the Old Timers Hockey Association luncheon November 20 at Mancini’s Char House in St. Paul.

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Rowdy Fans Bad Look for Hawkeyes Yesterday at Kinnick

Posted on October 22, 2023October 22, 2023 by David Shama

And how was your bacon this morning?

To Gophers fans it tasted like filet mignon.

Down in Iowa it tasted more like cardboard.

Minnesota won its rivalry game against Iowa yesterday in Iowa City, 12-10, in a controversial affair that sent Floyd of Rosedale back to Minneapolis. The bronze pig is supposed to symbolize how tensions can be eased and sportsmanship encouraged between the two rival schools and states.

That flew out the window late in the fourth quarter when too many Hawkeye fans lost control following a review disallowing an Iowa touchdown that would have put the hometown team ahead 16-12. Cooper DeJean’s punt return for the go-ahead score was negated after officials determined that before fielding the football, he signaled an illegal fair catch.

Iowa fans reportedly threw bottles, cans, and food onto the field. The Minnesota bench was targeted with debris, forcing the players to move out of their sideline area. Players and coaches had every right to be concerned about their safety.

Justin Gaard, sideline reporter on the Gopher radio network, put this up on X (formerly known as Twitter) yesterday: “This is year 13 on the sidelines. Trying to recall if fans anywhere have ever thrown so much stuff on the field like Iowa fans did tonight. I don’t remember it ever happening like that.”

The ruckus caused a delay in the game. It was a bad look for the Iowa fanbase.

Worse was the 2002 incident in Minneapolis when anarchy surfaced after Iowa’s 45-21 win over the Gophers. Fans stormed the field and tore down a goal post. Then they attempted to carry pieces out of the stadium but were stymied trying to get through the revolving doors. The Iowa athletic department later was billed for damages.

Floyd of Rosedale photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

The creation of Floyd in the 1930s came during a time of perhaps unparalleled tensions between Iowa and Minnesota. I remember my family telling me of how whiskey bottles hurled past Gopher players while playing at Iowa in that era. There must have been a lot of truth to that because before the 1935 game Iowa governor Clyde Herring threatened the Gophers saying, “If the officials stand for any rough tactics like Minnesota used last year, I’m sure the crowd won’t.”

Minnesota governor Floyd B. Olson responded with diplomacy, proposing a bet between the two state leaders over who would win the game. At stake were prize pigs from each state. The Gophers won the game and days after Herring marched a live pig into Olson’s office.

Calm had been restored in the rivalry. But never permanently as shown again yesterday when the Gophers ended an eight-game losing streak against the Hawkeyes.

There are classy Iowa fans for sure but even they would say there are too many boorish patrons among the Hawkeye faithful.

Worth Noting

Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin committed a difficult to understand unsportsmanlike penalty late in the second quarter when after the whistle he flipped the football out of an Iowa player’s grasp. It was one of four penalties for 40 yards the Gophers committed in setting up Iowa’s lone touchdown drive of the game.

The deadline is tomorrow for NBA contract extensions like the one the Timberwolves are trying to make with Jaden McDaniels. Owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners he isn’t sure if there is time to “cover the difference” between what the Wolves are offering and McDaniels wants prior to the deadline. Taylor said there is no questioning the Wolves value McDaniels, but a deal might have to wait until after the season.

“I don’t know where he’s really at,” Taylor said. “So far they have not been flexible, and I think we’ve tried to meet what we think is fair.”

That offer might be something like four years, $100 million for the 23-year-old versatile forward who the Wolves like a lot, including because he can guard at least three positions. “He’s gotta play this year, whether we sign him or don’t sign him,” Taylor said. “I mean it’s in his interest to play really well, and certainly at that point he’ll go out and try to get offers from other teams. …We have a right to match them (other team’s offers). I don’t know that it’s going to cost us any more that way than if we do it now. We’d like him to do it now because we’d like him to stay here for the long run, and we’d like him to know that.”

Predictions: John Hollinger from The Athletic has the Timberwolves tying with the Suns for the third best record in the Western Conference at 48-34. Sports Illustrated’s basketball issue out this month has the Wolves finishing No. 11 in the 15-team conference.

On the S.I. cover is former Wolves star Jimmy Butler, one of the most proven clutch players in the NBA who could lead the Heat to two consecutive NBA Finals. “…And I’m gonna whoop all y’all ass. Again,” he said in S.I.

Beth Goetz, who was deputy athletics director at Minnesota from 2013-2015, is interim athletics director at Iowa, and receiving strong support for the full-time job from school president Barbara Wilson, according to The Daily Iowan.

Honors: RB Darius Taylor of the Gophers was named a 247Sports Midseason True Freshman All-American last week. Minnesota senior safety Tyler Nubin made The Athletic’s second team for Mid-Season All-American.

The Wild is again close to 14,000 season tickets and some games are sold out, per owner Craig Leipold. Season tickets are still available for 2023-2024.

The Wild host a free open to the public outdoor practice starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, November 5 at the Recreation Outdoor Center in St. Louis Park. The event includes fan giveaways and activities. With space limited, fans are encouraged to arrive early.

Happy Birthday to Minnesota sports and entertainment icon Dick Jonckowski who turns 80 today, October 22. University of Minnesota alum and former Gopher golfer Harvey Mackay, widely known as a best-selling author and syndicated columnist, will be 91 on Tuesday. Happy birthday, Harvey.

Name, image and likeness rewards are a reality for a small number of Minnesota high school athletes. An educated guess is a dozen or so male and female athletes in the state are making money and receiving product in return for NIL.

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