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Vikings hint they could draft Kirk Cousins replacement
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah both hinted Thursday the team could draft a future replacement for current starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.
"Ideally, you would like to have that person in that role developing behind a great player like Kirk, but I don’t think you ever sacrifice it being the right player," O’Connell explained, as shared by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "Regardless of the when, where, why, how, you can’t sacrifice that. You have to have ultra belief and connection on making that decision because it is such an important decision."
Cousins restructured his contract for salary-cap purposes in March but remains in the final year of his deal. While the 34-year-old helped the 2022 Vikings win the NFC North division crown and notch a 13-4 regular-season record, he failed to guide the club past the New York Giants in a home playoff game.
In total, Cousins has accumulated a lackluster 1-3 career record across his postseason starts.
"Quarterback is the most important position in our sport," Adofo-Mensah added. "Ultimately, Kevin and I — these aren’t things you just kind of decide in the moment. You have to have plans, you have to have strategies, you have to have different ways of getting to that answer. We’ve had these conversations, they’re ongoing. There’s lots of different avenues in terms of addressing that position. I wouldn’t necessarily box us into just one."
Over the past couple of weeks, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports and Tyler Forness of Vikings Wire/USA Today all suggested the Vikings could trade up from pick No. 23 to grab a quarterback in the first round of the draft on April 27. Forness predicted Minnesota may complete a blockbuster deal in order to acquire former Florida Gators signal-caller Anthony Richardson via the third-overall choice.
"The 6-4 Richardson might have the highest ceiling of any prospect in this class," ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. wrote in his latest mock draft. "If he puts together all of his tools and isn't rushed into being the guy in Week 1, he could be a star."
Assuming Kiper is correct, Richardson could be a perfect fit as a red-shirt option behind Cousins for the 2023 edition of the Vikings.
More must-reads:
- Vikings Named Best Fit For Intriguing Receiver In 2023 NFL Draft
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Chop Robinson injury update: Miami Dolphins star reveals severity after being carted off field
Dolphins fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief with the latest update on the injury to pass rusher Chop Robinson. The second-year defender had to be carted off the practice field Wednesday during a joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Robinson posted an update on social media a couple of hours later to let fans know he is “good” and the injury is “nothing serious.” It sounds like he avoided anything that would cause him to miss significant time, and the carting off the field was simply a precautionary measure. As a rookie, Robinson played in all 17 games for the Dolphins, starting one. He finished with 26 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. He finished fifth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Robinson was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He played two seasons for the Nittany Lions after starting his career at Maryland. Over the course of his collegiate career, Robinson finished with 60 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. Robinson had a career high 5.5 sacks in 2022. As a member of the Class of 2021, Robinson was a four-star recruit out of Gaithersburg (M.D.) Quince Orchard, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 5 EDGE in the class and the No. 62 overall prospect in the class. The Dolphins have their next preseason game on Saturday against the Lions. We might not see Chop Robinson play in that contest, but it doesn’t mean the injury is a serious one and would likely only be a precautionary measure from the team as it prepares for the regular season. Tyreek Hill trade rumors Multiple NFL teams reportedly monitoring future with Dolphins In addition to Robinson, there’s been drama with the Dolphins lately. There are now rumors that Tyreek Hill could fetch some trade requests from other teams. “So his status is uncertain, with an oblique injury right now, as for when he gets back in the lineup, is still up in the air,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Right now, I have talked to a few teams that are at least monitoring his future a little bit. Could he be a potential trade target? Now, I know the Dolphins earlier this summer were telling teams, no, we’re not trading Tyreek Hill, but they just, you know, wonder, is he going to be available? It could be wishful thinking. “Maybe they want him to be available, but he’s a player that when I bring up the teams and say, who’s sort of a trade target you’re watching? They bring up Tyreek Hill, so we’ll see. He’s a big option for Tua and that’d be a major move if they did move away from him.” On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
Titans snatch Brian Asamoah off waivers as Vikings sign 2 linebackers
Brian Asamoah II only waited 24 hours to be claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans. The 2022 third-round pick never developed into a regular rotation player for the Minnesota Vikings, but he'll get a fresh start playing in a different scheme under Tennessee defensive coordinator Dennard Willis. Asamoah's release was followed by the Vikings signing a pair of linebackers on Wednesday: outside linebacker Cam Gill and insider linebacker Max Tooley. Gill has been in the NFL since 2020, playing primarily a special teams role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons. In 2024, Gill played for the Carolina Panthers and logged 221 defensive snaps and 172 special teams snaps. He finished the season with 22 tackles and four quarterback hits. Notably, Gill recorded two tackles and half a sack for Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV. Tooely was on Minnesota's practice squad all of last season, though he never appeared in a game as a rookie. He went undrafted after starring at BYU in college. Neither Gill nor Tooley are expected to land a big role on defense. The inside linebacker jobs currently belong to starters Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr., followed by veteran Eric Wilson and rookie Kobe King waiting in the wings as the primary backups. The outside linebacker depth is also evident with Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Gabriel Murphy, Bo Richter, Tyler Batty and Chaz Chambliss. Van Ginkel is dealing with an unspecified health issue so our guess is that the Vikings brought in Gill to take some of the available reps this week against the New England Patriots. More from Vikings On SI
Bryson DeChambeau divulges Scottie Scheffler's biggest advantage
We all know Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer on the planet by a fairly large margin, but what makes him so much more consistent than other stars in professional golf? Bryson DeChambeau, one of Scheffler's biggest rivals in major championships, thinks he knows the answer. In Tuesday's appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," DeChambeau detailed how Scheffler dominates the PGA Tour weekly. "He's got the best spin and distance control I've ever seen," DeChambeau said. "He controls the golf ball from a spin perspective so much better than everybody else. Like, if you're 175 yards out, and it's 10 miles [an hour] into the wind, he knows how to control the flight and spin to get that ball to land right next to the hole every time. Probably since Tiger [Woods], he's the best that we've seen." The stats confirm DeChambeau's breakdown. Scheffler has ranked first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach in three straight seasons. He also ranks first in proximity to the hole and greens in regulation percentage over the last four years. Iron play is Scheffler's superpower, but it wasn't always that way. "I played with him in college a bunch, and I've said it before, but he's definitely improved since college for sure," DeChambeau said with a chuckle. "It's impressive to see what he's done, and we're all aspiring to do that. That's something I've gotta get better at. I can hit it farther than him. I can hit it probably straighter than him. I can make just as many putts as him, but, really, it's about my iron play right now and wedges to get a little more consistent." Iron play is the biggest indicator of success in professional golf. If you're giving yourself more birdie chances from close range than anyone in the field, you're going to have the best chance to win by Sunday afternoon. No one is better at hitting specific distances more consistently than Scheffler. Just look at how accurate he is. DeChambeau has the best chance to catch Scheffler as the best player in the world because he's elite off the tee and on the greens, but that won't happen unless he makes a major improvement to his iron game.
Steelers Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer Reveals Root Of Zach Frazier's Concerning Issues
The Pittsburgh Steelers went into training camp expecting growth from all of their players, no matter how well they did in the previous year. However, concerns grew quickly about second-year center Zach Frazier, as his ability to snap the ball became inconsistent. Luckily, he seems to have fixed those problems as they have not flared up for about a week and a half. Pittsburgh can't afford to have its star center forget the basics and go into a deep sophomore slump. He needs to be on top of his game for the offense to thrive. While having a conversation with Tim Benz of TribLive, Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer explained why Frazier was unable to properly snap the ball and what they did to fix it. "That’s early camp stuff that we don’t want," Meyer said. "Especially when you played all those games he had that were early on. It was always the first play of the first team period. Whether that’s him thinking too much, trying to add things to his technique in terms like throwing hands and doing some things had him maybe a little bit off kilter." It sounds like the excitement just got the best of Frazier during those rough practices, so he had to be told to slow things down and focus on getting the snap right first. You can't rush a play like that and risk giving the ball away on something so simple and mundane. Just get the ball to the quarterback, but not too hard of course, and then focus on your blocking assignment. Frazier had that problem early in the 2024 season, but managed to clean it up eventually. That won't be tolerated in his second year in the league. Frazier was actually already benched in training camp briefly, and it could happen again, especially with a very demanding quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. Even though those issues have not happened again in several days, Meyer still seems annoyed about them happening in the first place. He explained his frustrating conversations with Frazier after plays kept getting botched. "We had a conversation about it, and that’s done. It’s over with," Meyer said. "We’re not having any more. We’re not doing it anymore. He’s obviously diligent about it, so he doesn’t make any of those mistakes. And we can’t have those mistakes. He’s been solid the last two weeks now." Working with Rodgers can be both exciting and scary, but Frazier just needs to settle down and treat him like he's any other quarterback. It doesn't matter what voice is calling out the cadences; he just needs to know the play and get the ball to him 100% of the time like he would with anyone else standing behind him. He will probably be hiking the football to a new signal-caller in 2026 as Rodgers has made it known this could be his final season in the NFL, so Frazier better learn to deal with the early-season jitters. Steelers' Offensive Line Will Be Key To Success Rodgers has recently had a lot of struggles when pressured, as he has become one of the worst passers in the NFL against the blitz. Meyer's unit needs to gel together and develop quickly as one if they want to keep their passer upright in the pocket, especially with the pass rush from the outside. That is the key to success for 2025. Of course, it all begins with a perfect quarterback/center exchange on every single play.
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