Vikings safety Josh Metellus was shown a piece of paper with the number of quarterbacks who have started for the NFL’s 31 other teams since Kirk Cousins joined the Vikings in 2018.
“Man,” he said. “That’s crazy.”
The number: 184. An average of six starters per team.
Ironically, Washington — the team that let Cousins walk in free agency after 49 consecutive starts — leads the way with 11.
“Crazy,” Metellus said.
Carolina and Indianapolis have had 10 apiece.
“Crazy,” Metellus said again.
The Vikings have been reacquainted with the harsh reality of injuries at the sport’s most difficult position. Their worst fears on Sunday were confirmed Monday when Cousins’ MRI showed a torn Achilles that will end his season.
Until now, there’s been only one game Cousins was unavailable to play. He missed the game at Lambeau Field during the 2021 season after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Kirk’s done a great job being so durable his whole career,” Metellus said. “To see him go down, it feels really weird.”
Indeed.
The Vikings have had only two starting quarterbacks since 2018. Cousins (51-39-1, including playoffs) and Sean Mannion, whose 0-2 record includes the 2019 regular-season finale, when the starters were being rested.
Two starters since 2018 ties Green Bay and Seattle for fewest in the NFL. The Chargers and Chiefs are next with three. The Bears are tied for fourth-most with eight, while the Lions are tied for 16th with five.
“It just shows you that every team faces this situation at quarterback and every other position,” Metellus said. “We’ll miss Kirk. But we can’t lose weeks of sleep. This league makes you move on quickly.
“I don’t think our season is lost. You can look at examples of how other teams have managed to win after losing a quarterback.”
The Jets, for example, lost Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury on the season’s fourth snap and are 4-3. They just played one of the ugliest NFL games of the modern era – more punts (24) than points (23) – but beat the Giants 13-10 in overtime.
“Winning ugly is OK,” Metellus said.
The NFL heads into Week 9 having used 42 starting quarterbacks. That number will rise by at least one with Cousins out but could go higher. Atlanta’s Desmond Ridder, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and the Giants’ Tyrod Taylor also did not finish their Week 8 games because of injuries.
Last year, the NFL used 69 starting quarterbacks, up from 60 in 2021, 58 in 2020, 57 in 2019 and 54 in 2018. Since 2018, 41 quarterbacks have started for more than one team. Fifteen have started for more than two teams, five have started for more than three teams, and Andy Dalton has started for a league-high five – Cincinnati, Chicago, New Orleans, Dallas and Carolina.
The Vikings are still formulating a plan for Sunday’s game at Atlanta. If Jaren Hall, a fifth-round draft pick, ends up starting, he will become the seventh rookie to do so at quarterback this season. Of those rookie starters, two were Day 3 draft picks – the Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell (fourth round) and Cleveland’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson (fifth round) – and one was undrafted (Chicago’s Tyson Bagent).
Outside of Mannion’s starts, the Vikings haven’t had to turn to the likes of these guys and what they’ve produced since 2018:
— Kyle Allen, who’s gone 7-12 with Carolina, Washington and Houston.
— Colt McCoy, who’s gone 4-7 with the Cardinals, Giants and Washington.
— Jeff Driskel, who’s gone 1-9 with the Broncos, Lions, Bengals and Texans.
— Brian Hoyer, who’s gone 0-4 with the Colts, Patriots and Raiders.
— Trevor Siemian, who’s gone 0-6 with the Bears, Saints and Jets.
And …
— Nick Mullens, who’s gone 5-12 with the 49ers and Browns, and is now one week from being eligible to come off the Vikings’ injured reserve list.
“Someone will step up,” Metellus said. “And the rest of us have to step up, too.”