Jared Allen Approves of Vikings Moving On from Kirk Cousins

Former Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen believes the team made the right decision in letting quarterback Kirk Cousins leave for the Atlanta Falcons.

Former Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen believes the team made the right decision in letting quarterback Kirk Cousins leave for the Atlanta Falcons.

Allen, who played for the Vikings from 2004 to 2013, appeared on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" to talk about Cousins' departure.

"It shooked out how it should've shooked out," Allen said. "I would have moved on, just because, nothing personal from the standpoint of Kirk, but you have to look where the future is gonna be. Even if you get two or three great years out of Kirk, for that kind of money, you're setting yourself behind getting a good draft pick and in the right direction."

Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons during the offseason, with $100 million of it guaranteed. The Vikings, meanwhile, are moving forward with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who they drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Allen said he believes the Vikings made the right decision to invest in McCarthy and the rest of their young players.

"I think with the coaching staff you have there, you make the right decision - you invest more in the young guys, you invest in the guys around the offense, especially now that you have McCarthy… I think they did the right thing."

Allen also said he doesn't believe Cousins is the type of quarterback who can lead the Vikings to a Super Bowl.

"And at the end of the day, especially from a quarterback standpoint, you're judged by wins and losses and Super Bowl, playoff wins. That's why they get the big money. … We were no closer to winning a Super Bowl investing all that money into Kirk - we went to the NFC Championship Game with Case Keenum, and we never got back there."

The Vikings have not won a Super Bowl since 1976, and they have only appeared in one Super Bowl since then, losing to the New Orleans Saints in 1999.

Allen said he hopes the Vikings can turn things around with McCarthy at quarterback.

"I think they're going to be a good team," Allen said. "They've got a lot of good pieces in place. I think they're just a couple of pieces away from being a championship team."

The Vikings will open the regular season on September 11 at home against the Green Bay Packers.