“I’ve been having the same kind of conversation that you would with a guy like Kirk Cousins, and our friendship has grown over time. I know where Kirk is in this process. He has earned the right to be a free agent. He has excellent football skills. I know Kirk will go through the entire process. He is a process guy. And ideally, we can continue to play a big role in that process and find a way to keep him a Minnesota Viking,” O’Connell said. “But my expectation is we’re not going to be the only ones that would like Kirk Cousins to be the quarterback of our team in 2024.”

O’Connell made it clear that he expects the Vikings to face competition for Cousins. He also suggested that other organizations may have been messing with Cousins before.
Cousins, 35, is coming off a torn Achilles’ tendon, which restricted him to just 8 games last season. He had three seasons of at least 30 touchdown passes with Minnesota, leading the Vikings to two playoff appearances.