Getty Kirk Cousins
The recent Kirk Cousins trade rumors to the San Francisco 49ers have been debunked — for now.
While ESPN’s Adam Schefter declared that he has not heard of any trade talks between the 49ers and Minnesota Vikings and that the rumors are unfounded, Cousins’ departure for San Francisco could be a matter of not now, but when.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson appeared on SKOR North and revealed that the Cousins trade talk has some basis in reality.
“There are credible NFL people that I know — I texted with one 24 hours ago — that truly believe Kirk Cousins is going to end up with the San Francisco 49ers,” Wolfson said.
However, Wolfson personally does not believe a deal gets done, although he did not say whether he has spoken to anyone within the organization.
“Personally, I think Kirk Cousins is going to be the Vikings quarterback here in 2021,” he added. “But I’m just telling you this isn’t made up fodder. There are legitimate league people talking about this possibility.”
“There are credible NFL people that I know who I texted with 24 hours ago that truly believe Kirk Cousins is going to end up with the San Francisco 49ers.”
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Where Cousins Stands With Vikings
Cousins was believed to be in danger of losing his job after six weeks of the 2020 season — when he threw a league-leading 10 interceptions entering the bye week. He made an admirable recovery, finishing the final 10 games of the season throwing 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
He posted a career-high 35 passing touchdowns in 2020 along with helping Adam Thielen catch a career-high 14 receiving touchdowns. Cousins was also instrumental in helping Justin Jefferson set the Super Bowl era rookie receiving yards record (1,400).
Jefferson recently defended Cousins on the Jim Rome Show, while coach Mike Zimmer attested “he’s our guy” on Good Morning Football on Friday.
Cousins’ potential to be traded comes down to how other teams in the league feel about him. If a team was willing to make an offer that somehow could benefit Minnesota in the present and future, a trade could happen — similar to the Stefon Diggs trade last offseason.
However, most teams in the league are bearish on the Vikings quarterback and likely won’t offer two first-round picks like Matthew Stafford garnered with the Los Angeles Rams. The dilemma remains what Minnesota will do at quarterback if Cousins were to leave. Deshaun Watson is the only true upgrade and most free agents are not serviceable replacements.
Unless Cousins can field enough value that would justify the possibility of another down year to get the quarterback situation in order, it will be in Zimmer and Rick Spielman’s best interest to keep Cousins and preserve their job security.
Wolfson Weighs in on Watson
An added side to Wolfson’s segment on SKOR North was a damper on the idea of Watson’s willingness to go to Minnesota.
I’ll also say this much, anything you talk about in terms of ‘could the Vikings land Deshaun Watson?’ With his no-trade power Deshaun Watson would not approve a trade to the Minnesota Vikings,” Wolfson said.
The Vikings do have plenty of desirable weapons that’d entice any quarterback, but Minnesota’s offensive philosophy appears to be a deal-breaker. That doesn’t mean Watson would warm up to the idea of joining the Vikings if there was a commitment to a new coordinator and approach on offense.
“As currently constructed with the offense they have chosen to run, I’m just telling you, Deshaun Watson would not approve a trade to Minnesota,” Wolfson said.
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