Skip to main content
Join

Kirk Cousins responds to teammate Justin Jefferson not listing him among Top 5 NFL QBs

profilephotocropby:Suzanne Halliburton•07/15/23•

suzhalliburton

kirk cousins justin jefferson
Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Kirk Cousins swears he didn’t know about the perceived slight from Justin Jefferson, his favorite receiver. He gave it a so-what shrug.

So here’s the back story. Earlier this month, a Braziliian journalist asked Jefferson to list his top five NFL quarterbacks. As a side note, the entire sports world is obsessed with lists, especially this time of year.

Justin Jefferson gave a good ranking, but he did leave off Kirk Cousins, his very own QB.

“I didn’t even see it. This is the first time hearing about it,” Cousins said during an appearance on KFAN. “As a competitor, yeah, you always want that. People have to be honest and share what they think. And I’m not going to tell somebody what they need to think. … Hopefully in 2024 I’ll be on his list. We’ll see what we can do this year.”

So who did Jefferson place in his top five? Let’s just say there are no shocking names. Of course, Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes was No. 1. He listed Aaron Rodgers, who went from the Vikings rival Packers to the Jets. His final three — Joe Burrow (Bengals), Jalen Hurts (Eagles) and Josh Allen (Bills).

Maybe Justin Jefferson should’ve included Kirk Cousins for pragmatic, political reasons. After all, you don’t want to shake up this QB-WR chemistry. Jefferson, the former LSU star, has earned an All-Pro selection in all three years in the NFL. He caught 128 passes last season for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns. Cousins targeted Jefferson 184 times.

Overall, Jefferson has 324 receptions for 4,825 yards and 25 touchdowns. It’s difficult to believe Jefferson is only 24 (his birthday was a month ago).

Cousins is headed into his 12th season in the NFL. And he’s getting better with age. Last season, starting all 17 games, Cousins led Minnesota to a 13-4 record. That’s a career-best for Cousins, who came into the league via Michigan State as Washington’s fourth-round selection in 2012.

Justin Jefferson probably will be in a ton of scenes in the Netflix docuseries Quarterback, which co-stars Kirk Cousins. The Vikings quarterback walked the red carpet earlier this week in LA for the series premiere. (Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Netflix)

Cousins definitely is enjoying a bump in popularity. He’s one of three quarterbacks featured in Quarterback, the Netflix docuseries from NFL films that dropped this week. The series also followed Mahomes and Marcus Mariota last season. All three of the QBs celebrated the premiere in LA.

With Rodgers now an AFC quarterback, Cousins definitely is one of the elite QBs in the NFC, with everyone lining up behind Hurts. Vikings training camp kicks off July 23, when rookies report. Vets show up two days later.