Insider Defends Theory of Rams Pursuing $35 Million Pro Bowler

Getty Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay during a practice on June 7, 2022.

Kirk Cousins is currently in a Los Angeles Rams offensive attack with the Minnesota Vikings.

One insider though believes, and stuck with, his theory that Cousins could become a “wild card” option for the Rams in 2024.

One week after sparking the theory of the $35 million Pro Bowl quarterback joining the Rams, Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk on Monday, June 26 defended his thought of Cousins eventually joining the Rams. Florio believes the four-time Pro Bowler will be down to the Rams and rival San Francisco 49ers — though the former was called a dark horse option by Florio.

Florio additionally revealed this stirring nugget: the rumors of the Rams hoping to make a trade offer.

“The other wild card is the Rams. Although Matthew Stafford is officially their guy for 2023, there were rumblings that the Rams were hoping for a trade offer, possibly from the Jets if the Aaron Rodgers deal had fallen through. After another year of Stafford holding his aging body together, while also potentially getting injured at some point during the 2023 season, coach Sean McVay — who like [Kyle] Shanahan worked with Cousins in D.C. — could decide to make a play for Cousins. Especially if McVay thinks Shanahan will finally try to get Cousins,” Florio said in his column.

Tracing Back to Florio’s Original Theory

Again, Florio is defending his wild theory that one or the other NFC West rival will end up with Cousins.

Florio first sparked that debate during his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on Sirius XM on Thursday, June 22 which included Florio using three bold words, “mark that down.”

“I think you’re going to see — unless the Vikings re-sign him by then, and they can’t use the franchise tag on him, the way his contract is structured — you’re going to see a potential tug of war between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay for Kirk Cousins next March,” Florio told Eisen. “Mark that down.”

Cousins is Facing Murky Future in Minnesota

Cousins has delivered a decorated run with the Vikings. Most recently, he was behind center for the Vikes’ NFC North title run which came with Ex-Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell in his first season at the helm.

Cousins went on to deliver his most passing yardage (4,547) in his five seasons as a Viking per Pro Football Reference. It was also his most yards in a season since 2016 with Washington…which was also during a time McVay was his offensive coordinator in D.C.

It’s one thing to be in an offense that mimics what McVay does with the Rams. But Cousins already has a past with the Super Bowl 56 winning head coach, giving off the leverage in fueling the thought of a Cousins/McVay pairing.

Cousins, currently, is set to make $10 million for this season for his base salary per Spotrac. But, this season marks the final year of his current deal with the Vikes as he becomes an unrestricted free agent for 2024.

Before Florio’s theory, there were the rumors swirling of the Vikings considering a trade involving Cousins — which in turn would’ve gotten the Vikings to draft a passer in the first round of the 2023 draft. However, the Vikings didn’t address QB until the fifth round through BYU’s Jaren Hall.

Still, Cousins continues to face a murky future in the Twin Cities. Already, his team has moved on from former franchise running back Dalvin Cook who produced four Pro Bowl appearances. Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter has been his own subject of trade rumblings before 2023 training camp.

And if there truly is a run at Cousins from the Rams’ side, it could be to replace Brett Rypien who also becomes a free agent in 2024 after signing a one-year deal.