How Kirk Cousins Will Impact the Vikings’ Offense in Return to Minnesota

You like that? Kirk Cousins is officially returning to the Vikings three years after playing his last game for Minnesota in 2023. With the Vikings facing desperation at the quarterback position, they traded for Cousins on the day of the deadline, sending a third-round pick to the Raiders in exchange for the 38-year-old signal-caller.

Cousins had a nice tenure with the Vikings from 2018 to ’23, passing for 25,265 yards, 171 touchdowns and 55 interceptions over six seasons, including 6,878 yards, 47 touchdowns and 19 picks under coach Kevin O’Connell, who took over the team in 2022. Cousins made the Pro Bowl three times with Minnesota and helped the Vikings reach the playoffs two times. His time as a Viking came to an end after he tore his Achilles midway through the 2023 season, but now he is heading back with the chance to be the hero the Vikings need at quarterback.

As Cousins returns to Minnesota, here are four numbers that will define his impact on the Vikings’ offense.

12

The total number of touchdowns the Vikings have scored in eight games this season. In comparison, as Paul Charchian pointed out, Cousins has thrown 20 passing touchdowns this season.

In short, the Vikings’ offense has struggled mightily. The Vikings named Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz their top two quarterbacks going into this season, but the pairing has not been successful for them. While their defense ranks first in points per game and second in EPA per play, the offense has not been able to do its part. They rank 31st in passing yards per game (160.8) and have combined for just eight passing touchdowns.

The Vikings’ quarterback play reached a breaking point on Monday night, when Wentz completed just 8-of-25 passes (32%) for 81 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Vikings had already failed to score a touchdown in two of their wins during their 6–0 start. They gave Murray time to adjust, but Monday proved to be the final straw when Wentz played terribly a week after Murray fell short of leading them to a key divisional win over the Lions.

Along with his 20 touchdowns, Cousins ranks fifth among quarterbacks in passing yards this season (2,340). He is averaging 260 passing yards per game, 100 more than the Vikings. At the very least, Cousins will be able to make this offense more productive and capable of moving the ball consistently, something the Vikings sorely need.

0.06

Cousins’s EPA per play in 2023 before tearing his Achilles, which ranked ninth in the NFL. Since, the Vikings saw Sam Darnold rank 16th in EPA per play in 2024 (0.03), J.J. McCarthy rank 35th in 2025 (-0.17) and Kyler Murray rank 26th this season (-0.09).

Cousins was not a perfect quarterback during his time in Minnesota, but he has easily been their most consistent quarterback in recent years. Though the Vikings started the 2023 season 1–4 (all three losses were by one score), he was playing some of his best football under O’Connell before the injury that ultimately ended his first stint in Minnesota. Over eight games, he completed 69.5% of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five picks while helping the Vikings rebound to 4–4 and in the playoff hunt again.

Since leaving Minnesota, Cousins has had his ups and downs—including getting benched for Michael Penix Jr. during his time with the Falcons—but has played well this season on the Raiders under Klint Kubiak, who was his quarterbacks coach and OC in Minnesota from 2019 to ’21. He will be an immediate upgrade at quarterback for the Vikings and able to keep their playoff aspirations alive as all four NFC North teams fight for the division and postseason berths.

0.56

Cousins’s EPA per dropback when throwing 10 to 19 air yards downfield this season, which ranks seventh according to Next Gen Stats. Kyler Murray ranks 31st out of 31 qualified quarterbacks with an EPA per dropback of -0.11 on such throws. Overall, Cousins has completed 61.2% of these passes for a league-leading 963 yards, nine touchdowns and four picks. Murray has started six games, and completed 47.8% of passes on these throws for 284 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Per Next Gen Stats, Murray has targeted the middle of the field on a career-low 21.6% of his passes, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL and also the lowest rate by a quarterback under O’Connell. Not only is Cousins playing better than Murray or Wentz, he’s also a better fit for O’Connell’s offense.

When comparing the passing charts of Murray and Cousins, it’s evident that Cousins throws to the intermediate and middle areas of the field more often and more successfully than Murray. This should open up more of the field for O’Connell’s offense and keep them from remaining as stagnant as they’ve been since Darnold left for Seattle.

1,589

The number of yards Justin Jefferson averaged per season over three full years with Kirk Cousins as his starter. He and Cousins also combined for 571 yards across five games in 2023 before both players dealt with injury.

No player is likely to benefit from Cousins’s return to Minnesota more than Jefferson, who has seen his production dip significantly amid the Vikings’ quarterback woes. Over 54 games with Cousins as his starting quarterback, Jefferson averaged 98.8 yards per game. He was able to maintain a similar level of production with Sam Darnold at quarterback in 2024 (about 90 yards per game), but since Darnold’s departure last year, he is averaging 60 yards per game over his last 24 contests, a startling drop for one of the league’s best receivers. Earlier in his career, he held the record for most receiving yards per game, but has since dropped to second place (87.9) while Puka Nacua, who was drafted three years later in 2023, has surpassed him with 96.2 yards per game (the record for a retired player belongs to Calvin Johnson, who averaged 86.1 yards per game over his Hall of Fame career, fourth-most among all players, retired or active).

Cousins likely won’t help restore Jefferson’s record-setting start, but he can help him put together a memorable 2026 campaign rather than seeing a second consecutive season of Jefferson’s prime go to waste. Jefferson has yet to record 100 yards in a game this season. He also isn’t on pace for 1,000 yards this season, which would break his streak of six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. Cousins can not only help the fortunes of the Vikings, but reframe Jefferson’s current career trajectory.

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