It was a brutal, season-altering injury. Cousins was playing perhaps the best football of his five-plus years in Minnesota. Kevin O’Connell’s offense was becoming his. Cousins was comfortable and in control. Now, he’s in a purple cast, looking at months of recovery.
Instead of throwing in the towel on the season, the Vikings are plowing forward. At 4-4, why the hell not? Loads of teams in league history have gone on to fine things after losing their top quarterback. Some have even won titles.
If there was anything convenient about the injury to Cousins, it was the timing. It came two days before the trade deadline. For simply roster number reasons, the Vikings had to add a quarterback. With nothing appealing on the free agent market, a trade was the only avenue for relative roster peace of mind. The Vikings traded a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for Josh Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick. For a modest swap of late-round picks, the Vikings added an experienced and capable quarterback. It was an option I hadn’t expected as Dobbs was his team’s starter as recently as Sunday. The curious waffling of Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday as to who was starting next week’s game was the first indication that Dobbs might be available.
The Vikings now have two quarterbacks on the active roster:
Jaren Hall
Josh Dobbs
For further roster depth, the Vikings have:
Nick Mullens
Sean Mannion
Nick Mullens is currently on injured reserve with a back injury. The earliest that he can return to the active roster is next week. A back injury can be an unpredictable thing. Sean Mannion is on the practice squad. The hope here is that he does not see the field in a meaningful game. Or even a meaningless game.
As a fifth-round rookie, Jaren Hall will make his NFL debut against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He was drafted as a project. He showed intriguing arm and movement talent at BYU. At a mature 25, he’s not the typical fuzzy-cheeked rookie. His first opportunity is still probably coming at least a year early.
The immediate takeaway from the Vikings adding a quarterback at the trade deadline was that Dobbs will soon be the starter. I’m not so sure. The Vikings definitely needed to add a quarterback, preferably a quarterback with starting experience. I just think that the job is Hall’s unless he shows that he’s not ready. It’s a good thing that both Hall and Dobbs have movement and running ability. A gameplan for one is a gameplan for both. In my opinion, Hall isn't just holding the position until Dobbs is ready. If Hall plays well, he continues to play.
Mullens may still factor into the season. He was the unquestioned backup to Cousins until the back issue put him on injured reserve. If he was healthy, he'd be preparing for the Falcons. If he was healthy, the Vikings probably wouldn't have traded for a starter/backup at the deadline.
In a couple weeks, the Vikings active quarterback room might look like this:
Jaren Hall
Josh Dobbs
Nick Mullens
With Sean Mannion playing the role of assistant to the assistant quarterback coach.
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