Getty Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is expected to play more consistent the more he adopts Kevin O'Connell's offense, the coach said entering Week 5 of the 2022 season.
Tom Brady‘s retirement is official.
The 44-year-old announced his retirement on February 1 in an Instagram post after several rumors following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ NFC divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams on January 23.
“I always believed the sport of football is an ‘all-in’ proposition- if a 100% competitive commitment isn’t there, you won’t succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game,” Brady wrote. “There is a physical, mental and emotional challenge EVERY single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential. And I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There is no shortcuts to success on the field or in life.”
The Buccaneers built a Super Bowl-contending team around Brady over the past two seasons. His retirement could have lit a fuse bound for a mass exodus of veteran talent on the team.
Or Tampa Bay can find a reliable replacement at quarterback and push onward.
Enter Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
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Cousins Among Bucs Trade Candidates
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times appraised the upcoming quarterback market and assessed which quarterbacks would make the most sense to be Brady’s heir in Tampa Bay.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the closest replacement to Brady, with each quarterback winning three NFL Most Valuable Player awards.
However, Rodgers is unlikely to be dealt to any team in the NFC that could knock the Packers out of the playoffs after three sight NFC Championship Game appearances.
Instead, Cousins could be a more feasible trade target for the Buccaneers.
You like that? Or maybe you don’t, but Cousins is in the final year of his contract. Statistically, he’s been one of the better quarterbacks in the league for a number of years. The Vikings will have a new coach and general manager who may want to start over. Teams like the 49ers, Panthers and others could be interested. The problem is that Cousins is guaranteed $35 million in 2022, and not many teams have a ton of salary-cap space.
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A Potential Trade
A potential trade between the Vikings and Buccaneers is feasible.
Tampa Bay currently has $16.57 million in cap space and will need to take on Cousins’ $35 million base salary. In exchange for a high-value draft pick, Minnesota could cover some of his base salary.
The Buccaneers have the 27th overall pick that would likely be the team’s prized asset in the trade. Tampa Bay doesn’t have a reliable replacement-level quarterback for Cousins to pair in Blaine Gabbert. The Buccaneers could offer developmental project Kyle Trask, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft, instead of a draft pick.
However, Minnesota may not want to entertain a trade that would leave them on the hook for anything more than Cousins’ $10 million signing bonus. Potentially picking up another $10 million in his base salary to sell him to another team would hamper the Vikings’ ability to sign free-agent under a new head coach and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The price Minnesota is willing to deal Cousins for will ultimately fall on who the head coach is and what he deems is the best route to retooling the Vikings on the fly.