The Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 season took a massive hit on Sunday when quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles.
Cousins suffered the non-contact injury in the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ 24-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers. After the game, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team feared that the 35-year-old signal-caller had suffered an Achilles injury, a diagnosis that ESPN’s Adam Schefter later reported as confirmed.
Prior to Sunday’s injury, Cousins had been enjoying a strong 2023 campaign. In seven games, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback had completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 2,057 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Despite losing its first three games of the season, Minnesota has since won four of its past five contests and sits in second place in the NFC North at 4-4.
After Cousins exited Sunday’s game, the Vikings turned to rookie quarterback Jaren Hall. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of BYU completed three of his four pass attempts for 23 yards.
With veteran quarterback Nick Mullens currently on injured reserve until at least Week 10 with a back injury, Minnesota will have to make a move at quarterback and could turn to the trade market ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. It will also be interesting to see how Cousins’ injury affects his future in Minnesota, as the Michigan State product was in the final year of his contract with the Vikings.
Following the news of Cousins’ injury, many took to social media to weigh in.
Kirk Cousins never has missed an NFL game due to injury.
The only NFL game he missed was due to COVID. https://t.co/A3VEQxVWas
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2023
DAMN man… Absolutely bummed for @KirkCousins8
Positive vibes from all of us to you in this recovery brother. https://t.co/zzyy8oeZJ3
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 29, 2023
Man this really sucks for Kirk. Playing so well, never had a major injury, was set to become a free agent and get another huge bag. https://t.co/5PQTi1wqmq
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 29, 2023
Hate this. Not a nicer guy in this business. 🙏🏻 https://t.co/VxoYgPx8go
— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) October 30, 2023
Damn Cousins was ballin out this season. https://t.co/8AhRkELRdO
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) October 29, 2023
Kirk was playing at an MVP level.
One of my favorite Vikings of all time. https://t.co/PKL2NFJcH8
— Vikings Central (@VikesCentral) October 29, 2023
Damnnnnnn! Him and Jordan Addison were vibing. I thought was Cousins has done this year was very impressive. Heal up soon. https://t.co/ep6l2upXRG
— Jerry Ferrara (@jerryferrara) October 29, 2023
This just sucks.. https://t.co/9qzqnClgyQ
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 29, 2023
