Cleveland Browns: Minnesota refuses to commit to Kirk Cousins

The Cleveland Browns are still saying Baker Mayfield is their guy but Kirk Cousins becoming available could throw a wrench in those plans

The dots continue to be connected to Kirk Cousins and the Cleveland Browns.

At one time, Cousins was the quarterback under Kevin Stefanski when the two were with the Minnesota Vikings and Cousins had his best success when they did work together. Now, there are continual whispers that they could again work together in 2022.

The only obstacles have been the Browns public support for Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback as well as new Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell showing a lot of love for Cousins. However, there may be some cracks in that armor as Adam Patrick of The Viking Age says O’Connell refused to commit recently when asked about Cousins.

Patrick also said that while O’Connell still had nice things to say in regards to his quarterback, he was much more subdued and speculated that he may have been told to “tone down his feelings.”

"“It seems like someone from the Vikings’ front office probably talked to O’Connell after his comments about Cousins during his introductory press conference and asked him to tone down his feelings a bit.” — Patrick, The Viking Age"

While this is all speculation, the truth is — O’Connell did already seem to soften his stance — and perhaps rumors of Cousins wanting $40 million per season could be a reason for that. But if it’s not just about the two sides fighting for a contract position, it could mean the door is open for Cousins to be moved.

Many Cleveland fans are undyingly loyal to Baker Mayfield, who did bring them their first winning season since 2007 and their first playoff win since the 1990s. This faction of the Dawg Pound wants nothing to do with rumors of a different signal-caller, but we need to think practically.

Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry did not draft Mayfield, they inherited him. We have seen it time and again where a new GM and coach want their own guy and after the struggles the Browns had in 2021, they might truly consider this.

What makes this even more likely is the fact that there is volatile ownership in place that has a quick trigger finger and a Coach of the Year award in 2020 won’t hold him off forever.

Cousins and head coach Kevin Stefanski know one another well and while the coach has won with Baker, there’s still a chance the coach will prefer to roll the dice with someone he trusts a little more, especially if he and the GM have any concerns about their own job security.