Questions Answered: Will Reichard’s Return, Patrick Peterson at CB, Kirk Cousins

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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the December 3rd edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].

Questions Answered: Will Reichard’s Return, Patrick Peterson at CB, Kirk Cousins

Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

Q: Will the kicker Will Reichard return this weekend for Vikings-Falcons?

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

Answer: It’s not fully decided, but we say yes.

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said about Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola, who hit injured reserve the same week as Reichard: “They had a session this morning. It went really, really well, and so we’ll see we can have another session here, coming up in a couple days. Hopefully those guys are good to go, and if they are, then hopefully we have them back. But right now, it’s kind of up in the air.”

Then, a couple of hours after Daniels’ remarks, Minnesota released replacement long snapper Jake McQuaide. We believe that the long snapper and kicker’s return are probably a package deal. So, McQuaide’s release could hint that Reichard and DePaola are ready for Week 14.

Fans, however, will miss Parker Romo. He’ll live in Vikings lore for a long time. Rightfully so.

Q: Would you sign Patrick Peterson at cornerback if Stephon Gilmore can’t play this week or next?

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Answer: We’d like to see rookie corner Dwight McGlothern first.

So, at least for a week, we’d hold off on Peterson and lean into McGlothern and veteran Fabian Moreau, who had a rough outing against the Arizona Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Gilmore may not miss much time. It sounded like he wanted to reenter the game on Sunday.

Moreau could get the start if Gilmore is on the shelf, but don’t rule out McGlothern for Week 14 action. Head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about Nudie — that’s McGlothern’s nickname — this week: “We’ve got ‘Nudie’ on the practice squad, or I should say Dwight McGlothern. But we’ve got him at any point in time, that we’ve had clearly we have a lot of confidence in.”

O’Connell said, “We’ll see,” on McGlothern possibly getting the nod against the Falcons, a decision likely up to Flores, the almighty defensive architect.

Explore Peterson if the secondary has struggles versus the Falcons — that’s our verdict. Gilmore may even be back by then.

Q: Do you think Kirk Cousins will be benched before the end of the season?

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images.

Answer: We think it’s more likely that Cousins turns it around than getting benched.

Of course, Atlanta has Michael Penix Jr. at QB2 for this very purpose, so Falcons fans’ chants for him won’t quiet until Cousins returns to form.

Cousins has suffered back-to-back-to-back awful games, which is rather un-Cousins-like. Hopefully he doesn’t get hot this weekend in Minnesota.

Our bet is that Cousins finishes the 2024 campaign, and then the Falcons consider switching to Penix Jr. in 2025. If they cut or trade Cousins in the offseason, though, they’ll have to swallow between $37 million and $65 million in dead cap. But again — this is the way they wanted it.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.