The Minnesota Vikings used a third-round pick on Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond, bolstering the QB room. It wasn't a move that should threaten Kirk Cousins' job in the short term.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio that the move simply followed their draft board and he selected a talented player who can grow in Minnesota.
"Right now, there's no question that Kirk Cousins is our quarterback," Spielman told Schein on Tuesday. "What we wanted to do just like we do with everything else, as the board continues to fall, we want to get the best players available on our board. And Kellen (Mond) definitely checked the box there when we were able to get him in the third round. I did call Kirk the following morning and his agent, but we want to create competition right now behind Kirk. And we have two very young, talented guys, we feel, in Nate Stanley and Jake Browning, but to throw Kellen Mond in the mix, our coaches are very excited to work with him. So let's see where it goes. Let's see how quickly he develops. But our whole focus right now is just making sure we have enough depth and young, talented guys to develop at that position as we go into this season."
Spielman's comment is a reiteration of what he noted after the Vikings made Mond the first of four third-round picks last Friday night.
The Vikings are tied to Cousins, who is due to count $45 million against the salary cap in 2022 -- all dead money if cut -- through next season.
Minnesota reportedly considered making a move to draft Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, for whom the Chicago Bears eventually traded up at No. 11. The potential interest in a first-round signal-caller, coupled with the Mond selection, suggests the Vikings are preparing for the eventual end of Cousins' run in Minnesota.
For now, it's Cousins' show.
"Kirk knows he's our quarterback," Spielman said of the conversation he had with the QB after drafting Mond. "His agent knows he's our quarterback. I just told him this is a player we want to work with, and like I said, try to create competition at the position behind you, just like we are at a lot of positions."
By most accounts, Mond needs some seasoning before he's ready for the NFL show. Perhaps at that point, the Vikings will be prepared to move on from Cousins.
