The hottest free agent of 2018 admits his season wasn't what people were expecting, and is ready to change that in 2019.
Speaking on the Dan Patrick show, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was blunt while assessing his team's performance. "We didn't make the playoffs," said the 30-year-old signal-caller: "There were high expectations and we didn't deliver, and so I've been frustrated since the season ended."
Despite putting up better numbers than Case Keenum did with the Vikings in 2017 - which ultimately got the team to the NFC Championship game - Cousins failed to produce a season that matched the $84 million contract he signed last year. He finished with 4,298 passing yards (10th in the NFL), 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 40 sacks behind a poor offensive line.
Cousins - who became an unlikely prized-starter after beginning his career as a backup- knows expectations won't die until he gets a chance to prove himself: "I'm ready to go and make amends for 2018. It's been frustrating to know I have to sit here for whatever it is, seven or eight months before we get back at it... I haven't been sleeping well."
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will hope Cousins learnt a lot in his first season with the team, and his relationship with star wide receiver Adam Thielen gets better during the off-season -- after it became strained in late-2018. If a hot start doesn't come in 2019, the team may regret letting its would-be-starter Teddy Bridgewater go.
Mark Hogan
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