GM Spielman: Cousins remains our starting quarterback
Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman announced that Kirk Cousins remains the team's starter after drafting Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond with the 66th overall pick in the third round.
"There's no competition there," Spielman said, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.
"It's just taking another player. It's like, regardless of position, if we take a player in the third round or first round, I'm not calling a player and saying, 'Hey, we may take this guy here.' Our job is to get as many good players in here and let them all come in and compete."
Cousins has started 47 contests in the three seasons since his arrival. The 32-year-old passer led Minnesota to a playoff win against the New Orleans Saints in 2018. Cousins' performance that season earned him a two-year, $66-million contract extension.
He threw for 4,265 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing 67% of his passes last year.
With former backup signal-caller Sean Mannion currently a free agent, there’s an opportunity for Mond to compete as Cousins' understudy next season. Nate Stanley and Jake Browning fill out the QB depth chart.
Mond’s dual-threat abilities intrigued Minnesota, who envision him adding a different dimension to a Vikings offense that averaged 393 yards per game in 2020.
"He has a little different skill set than Kirk, but I know just talking with our offensive coaches that we feel that the mobility part of things may add some value to him as a quarterback and to this system," Spielman said.
Mond left college as the Aggies' all-time leading passer with 9,661 yards and 71 touchdowns to go with 11,269 total yards.