Kirk Cousins' injury will force Vikings to make tough decisions quickly

GREEN BAY, WIS. – Harrison Smith cursed.

Harrison Phillips stared into the distance, shook his head and said: "I'm sick to my stomach. I would say this isn't a normal three-game winning streak vibe."

Christian Darrisaw, who could be heard easily while speaking at a whisper volume, said, "It was quieter in here than usual."

On Sunday afternoon, the Vikings defeated Green Bay 24-10 at Lambeau Field, winning their third consecutive game to improve to 4-4. They spent much of the fourth quarter turning away from the playing surface and staring toward a blue tent behind their bench.

Early in the fourth quarter, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, among the NFL's passing leaders, injured his right leg and hopped on his left foot all the way to the sideline. He sat on the bench, tossed his head back in pain, then was helped into the blue tent used to conceal players undergoing medical checkups.

By the time reporters were allowed to enter the Vikings locker room after the game, the news had spread: Cousins is believed to have a torn Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

At that moment, the future sprinted at Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah like a blitzing linebacker.

Before the NFL's trade deadline Tuesday afternoon, he has to decide whether the Vikings are realistic contenders without Cousins and whether he should be adding value via trade.

Or if he should give up on the season and trade star defender Danielle Hunter, who isn't signed beyond this year, to bolster the Vikings' chances of drafting Cousins' replacement.

Adofo-Mensah has to decide whether Cousins should be his quarterback next year and for years to come, even as Cousins approaches age 36 and will have to spend much of the offseason rehabilitating his injury.

Adofo-Mensah also has to ask this ethical question of himself and the Vikings brain trust: Can you throw away a season when you are 4-4, you sell out all of your home games, you're on a three-game winning streak, you're 17-8 in the regular season as a regime and you are firmly in contention?

Can you throw away a season when you should be favored to win in Atlanta this week while likely facing former Vikings quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who replaced Desmond Ridder on Sunday, and the next five games look winnable?

Can Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O'Connell persuade star receiver Justin Jefferson to return quickly from his hamstring injury, even as he remains unsigned to a long-term contract and might not relish playing with a backup quarterback?

Then there is this: After Adofo-Mensah watched former first-round pick Jordan Love play like a third-stringer Sunday, two weeks after watching former first-round pick Justin Fields play poorly for the Bears, can the Vikings GM have confidence that throwing away this season for a high draft pick would necessarily result in drafting a quarterback who will be better than Cousins?

Cousins' injury ushered in a number of crises, and Adofo-Mensah's mindset might depend on how much confidence O'Connell expresses privately about rookie backup Jaren Hall, who lost a fumble after replacing Cousins, or veteran backup Nick Mullens, who has a back injury and can't return from injured reserve until Week 10.

If O'Connell believes either or both can lead this team to the playoffs, then the Vikings don't have to do anything before Tuesday and, in fact, shouldn't do anything.

If O'Connell believes neither can mimic the 49ers' former seventh-round draft pick Brock Purdy (or Cousins, a former fourth-rounder) and run this offense efficiently enough to support a winning team, then Adofo-Mensah might feel obligated to cut his losses.

Which is sad. Cousins frequently seemed like a quirky, nervous guy when he played for Mike Zimmer. Under O'Connell, he spent 2022 performing like a star in the clutch and 2023 rallying the Vikings while putting up gaudy statistics.

On Sunday afternoon, his teammates spoke of Cousins not only as their leader but as their friend.

"I just love Kirk to death," tight end T.J. Hockenson said. "I love his family. I love him. This is super tough."

For the Vikings, winning at Lambeau has never felt like this.