Vikings QB Kirk Cousins managed only 12-of-23 passing for 105 yards in Sunday's beatdown at the hands of the Cowboys. He took 7 sacks and lost a fumble in the 40-3 defeat, giving way to Nick Mullens for late mop-up duty. TE T.J. Hockenson led Minnesota pass-catchers with just 5 catches and 34 yards. WR Justin Jefferson checked in just behind with a 3-33 line on 5 targets. WRs Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn were the only other Vikings to catch more than 1 pass. (They each caught 2.) Minnesota gets challenging matchups the next 2 weeks as well, against the Patriots and Jets. The 1st of those comes on Thanksgiving night.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was up and down in Week 11, posting 357 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks at Buffalo. He was bailed out by Justin Jefferson on several throws, including one that’s a candidate for catch of the year. We’d only put 1 INT on Cousins’ shoulder, but his decision-making (and ball placement) remained inconsistent from throw to throw. His lone score went to Jefferson, while the duo came close to hooking up for another. Through 9 games, Cousins now sits as the QB10 overall. He’ll be tested this week against Dallas — especially with LT Christian Darrisaw (concussion) looking iffy to play.
New Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson led the team with 9 receptions Sunday in his 1st game since the trade. He caught all 9 of his targets (2nd on the team) for 70 yards. Only WR Justin Jefferson drew more looks, catching 7 of 13 for 115 yards and a TD. WR Adam Thielen garnered 7 targets and tallied 3 receptions for 67 yards. QB Kirk Cousins totaled 265 yards on a lackluster 22-of-40 (55%) passing. Minnesota heads to Buffalo next Sunday for 1 of the league's toughest passing matchups.
The Lions are trading TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings, along with a 2023 4th-round pick and a 2024 conditional 4th-round pick, in exchange for a 2023 2nd-round pick and 2024 3rd-round pick, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. It's surprising for a few reasons, most notably because it's an intra-division trade and involves a former 1st-round pick still on his rookie deal. Hockenson counts just $6.5 million against this year's salary cap and has a $9.3 million 5th-year option for 2023. He's been slightly underwhelming through 3+ NFL seasons considering he was the 8th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. But Hockenson's 44.0 receiving yards per game since 2019 rank 10th among TEs. He's averaged a career-best 56.4 yards per game so far this year and ranks 7th among 31 qualifying TEs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. Minnesota is an OK spot for Hockenson's rest-of-season fantasy value. He'll obviously be behind WR Justin Jefferson in the pecking order but could challenge WR Adam Thielen for the #2 spot. And the Vikings have been a pass-leaning offense this year, ranking 7th at 38.0 pass attempts per game. (The Lions rank 15th at 35.7.). Hockenson will face negative fantasy-scoring matchups the next 2 weeks vs. Washington and Buffalo, but the schedule looks nice after that. Detroit, meanwhile, is left with TEs Brock Wright and James Mitchell. Wright is the preferred add but is probably only worth a look in TE-premium leagues like the FFPC. RB D'Andre Swift and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown should pick up more targets with Hockenson gone.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins posted 232 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s win over Arizona. Cousins added a rushing TD from 17 yards out — his longest such score since 2016. He connected with K.J. Osborn and Johnny Mundt for a pair of goal line TDs, with Osborn’s catch coming on a beautifully placed ball. Cousins recorded the useful line despite a (stud-adjusted) so-so day from Justin Jefferson (6-98). We also saw Adam Thielen get shaken up on a play, but he ultimately returned to the field. Cousins figures to remain a top-12 option this week against Washington. After that, though, he gets tough draws at Buffalo and vs. Dallas.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins managed just 58.7% completions on 46 pass attempts in Monday night's one-sided loss to the Eagles. He finished with 221 passing yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs, finding TE Irv Smith for the team's only score. A Week 3 matchup with Detroit should prove more favorable for the entire Minnesota offense.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins returned to practice on Wednesday. He ended up missing the minimum 5 days with COVID. His fantasy stock is unaffected.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID and will be away from the team for at least 5 days. We'll see exactly when he gets back on the field, but this shouldn't impact his 2022 fantasy value.
"I think he's gonna finally thrive, really thrive, in a system and a coach that actually respects him." Those were the recent words from ex-Vikings LB Ben Leber, who now works the sideline for team radio broadcasts. Leber added: "Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins. And I think that showed in the way that Kirk behaved and the way that he carried himself. The team was never given to him." It's quite possible that this is entirely true ... and that the change doesn't impact Cousins' fantasy production. He ranked 5th among QBs in passing-TD rate and yards per attempt over the past 3 years, under Zimmer. (We talked further about Cousins and our expectations for the 2022 Vikings offense in Tuesday's podcast.) If it's true that Zimmer negatively impacted Cousins' day-to-day, then the switch certainly can't hurt his effectiveness.
QB Kirk Cousins is signing a 1-year extension with the Vikings. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that it's worth a fully guaranteed $35 million, locking him in through 2023. The deal also adds a no-trade clause. This move confirms that Cousins will at least remain Minnesota's starter through the 2022 season -- and likely through 2023 as well.
There have been some rumors of potential for QB Kirk Cousins to be traded this offseason. It doesn't sound like new Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell is on board with that notion, though. "Kirk is our quarterback," O'Connell said Wednesday in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I'm excited about that. I'm excited about building an offense for him." We wouldn't echo excitement for Cousins as a fantasy QB, but his production has outperformed his ADP for several years now. So we have no problem with Cousins as an early best-ball pick -- especially when stacked with WR Justin Jefferson or WR Adam Thielen.
The Vikings have fired HC Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman, NFL Network reports. It ends an 8-year run for Zimmer and a 16-year run for Spielman in Minnesota. Zimmer's tenure brought just 3 seasons of double-digit wins and 2 playoff victories. We'll see who the Vikings hire to run the show going forward.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has been activated from the COVID list. He's expected to start Sunday's finale vs. the Bears, despite Minnesota having nothing to play for. Cousins isn't an exciting fantasy option, but his return is excellent news for WR Justin Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings' skill-position players.
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