Getty 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was called the opposite of Kirk Cousins by Colin Cowherd.
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s love affair with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is no secret.
The young offensive-minded head coach has said he would have loved to have Cousins and feels the team could have won the Super Bowl with the veteran quarterback.
“I would have loved to have (Kirk Cousins in free agency until Jimmy came along the year before because I thought we could have won with him,” Shanahan said last offseason. “I love Kirk. I know I’m not allowed to talk about other players, but Kirk’s a hell of a player, and a lot of people would be lucky to have a quarterback like that.”
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Kyle’s *full* comments on Kirk
Last November, former Washington head coach Jay Gruden said that Shanahan and the 49ers were willing to trade two first-round picks and multiple second-rounders for Cousins back in 2017, but that Washington’s staff was unwilling to work with Shanahan, who left the organization to take on the 49ers head coaching gig.
Despite Jimmy Garoppolo playing good enough to vault the 49ers into an NFC Wild Card appearance, the team has broadcasted its desire to move on from Garoppolo.
Both quarterbacks are among early 2022 trade candidates this offseason. If the 49ers are adamant about making a run in the next couple of years, they’ll want to forgo their plans for Garoppolo and rookie Trey Lance and find a quarterback who can win now.
The Vikings could come away with a lucrative trade package if that’s the case. However, one of the NFL’s loudest voices believes Garoppolo is still the man in San Francisco.
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“I’ll say it again. Jimmy G is the opposite of Kirk Cousins. He’s better in primetime games and two minutes left. He’s better with no timeouts.” — @ColinCowherd
On a recent episode of The Herd, Colin Cowherd argues that Garoppolo is the opposite of Cousins, signaling that the Vikings quarterback is not clutch.
“I’ll say this about Jimmy G. I know he drives you all nuts, and none of you like him, but I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it again. He’s the opposite of Kirk Cousins,” Cowherd said. “He’s better in primetime games. He’s better with two minutes left. He’s better with no timeouts.”
This season, Cousins showed he could put the Vikings in a position to win, leading numerous potential game-winning drives. However, Cowherd is right that Garoppolo has an edge in passer rating in the final two minutes of the half of this season, 116.4 to Cousins’ 78.4 passer rating.
Garoppolo has also helped his team while ahead more than Cousins, posting a 96.7 passer rating compared to Cousins’ 79.9 mark.
But while playing with the game tied, Cousins was tremendous in 2021, throwing 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 128 passer rating compared to Garoppolo’s 86.1 passer rating during a tied game. When playing from behind, the quarterbacks have nearly identical passer ratings — 106.3 by Cousins and 106.6 by Garropolo.
Garoppolo’s success in the NFL has come for the exact reason he isn’t Cousins. His career record of 33-14 has come from playing on a solid team around him since joining the 49ers for an average cap hit of $27.4 million, highlighted by an appearance in the 2019 Super Bowl where they led the Kansas City Chiefs for three quarters.
Meanwhile, the Vikings’ once Super Bowl-caliber roster eroded due to aging veterans and the team’s lack of cap flexibility under Cousins’ contract, which will carry a $45 million cap hit in 2022.
San Francisco appears to be better positioned to make a run and could make a pricey move Minnesota once did in 2017 by trading for Cousins.
Vikings Could Make an Offer for Lance
GETTYTrey Lance aims downfield against the Arizona Cardinals.
Garoppolo is far from an enticing option at quarterback, but he is $10 million cheaper than Cousins.
Whether those cap savings and potential draft capital are enough to warrant interest in a trade remains to be seen, but Minnesota could offer to swap Cousins for Lance, a third overall pick in 2020, instead.
Lance would be afforded a buffer year as the Vikings starting quarterback next season under a new regime that will look to refresh its roster and take steps forward, readying for a proper postseason run in the 2023 season.
Playing on a rookie deal, Lance carries an average cap hit of $9.3 million over the final three years of his contract, leaving significant cap savings for the new Vikings brass to retool the team’s defense.
Meanwhile, the 49ers can either trade Garoppolo elsewhere or cut him in a move that would save $25.6 million in cap space (a luxury of rostering a quarterback on a contract that’s not fully guaranteed).