Fran Tarkenton didn’t hold back when asked about Kirk Cousins coming back to Minnesota.
On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame quarterback told Darren Wolfson of KSTP that the Vikings’ move to reacquire Cousins from the Raiders was exactly what the team needed. “I think it’s the greatest thing that could have happened to us,” Tarkenton said.
“We were lost. We were winning on defense.
We had no offense. We had no quarterback.
And now we’ve got Kirk coming back, who is having a great year. He’s a great player.
He’s a better person than player. Our team should lift up now.
And we’re in the best division in football. Our defense has kept us in the hunt.
“And having Kirk - I cannot tell you how happy I am for the Vikings, for the fans, for the Wilfs, and for all the players and the old-timers like myself. We’ve got a chance with Kirk Cousins.”
The reaction fits the moment in Minnesota, where a defense good enough to keep the team afloat has been carrying an offense that has struggled badly. The Vikings answered by bringing back a former franchise quarterback, and Tarkenton immediately saw the move through the lens of his own second run in purple.
Tarkenton spent 1961 through 1966 with the Vikings before returning from 1972 through 1978, and that second stint is the one that produced three Super Bowl appearances. Cousins’ return naturally brings those memories back to the surface, even if the comparison stops there.
Tarkenton’s comments weren’t the only reason he made headlines this week, either. He reportedly earned just $1.2 million over his entire 18-year NFL career, but that was only the beginning of his financial story. At 86, he recently bought a $51.89 million home in Palm Beach.
His post-football life has been just as notable. Tarkenton became the first NFL player to host Saturday Night Live, later co-hosted That’s Incredible and spent four years in the Monday Night Football booth. The real money, though, came in business, especially computer software, and he also made millions as an early investor in Apple.
And if you watch the clip, it’s clear he still has the same quick mind and quick delivery that made him such a distinctive figure in the first place.
For the Vikings, the hope is simpler: with Cousins back, they can finally turn a defense that has kept them in the hunt into a team with a real chance.
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