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The Minnesota Vikings are on the clock to find their future at quarterback after declining to give veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins a contract extension in the offseason.
But with Justin Jefferson entering his prime, the argument can be made that the Vikings shouldn’t squander too much time playing rookie quarterback roulette. There needs to be a plan in place to either find a younger quarterback who can run the offense as effectively as Cousins for a lower salary or get a bonafide All-Pro caliber player.
It’s a rarity the latter ever hits the market in free agency or trade talks. However, there is a potential opportunity to find a former NFL Most Valuable Player entering his prime by trade.
Good Morning Football’s Jamie Erdahl, a native of Bloomington, Minnesota and former intern at KFAN radio, made her case that Minnesota should look for a replacement in Cousins, either by trading for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance or selling the farm to land Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who requested a trade from Baltimore in March.
“I think Kirk Cousins is a talented quarterback who has won a lot of games,” Erdahl prefaced. “I don’t think the Kirk Cousins experience is going to get the Vikings much farther than they have with him the last couple of seasons.”
Erdahl’s point is that Cousins has one playoff win to show for five seasons in Minnesota after he was awarded the first fully guaranteed contract as the final piece of a roster that made the conference championship in 2017. Minnesota has since tried to make it work, building around Cousins’ contract, but has failed to build a strong enough roster for Cousins to drive beyond the first round of the playoffs.
“They’ve made it to the postseason. That’s great,” Erdahl said. “I think if you keep doing the same old song and dance, you’re going to keep getting the same product out of Kirk Cousins and just how he matches with this team in particular.”
While the Vikings would have to give up several first-round picks and a potential Pro Bowl talent for Jackson, Erdahl believes a talent like Jackson would elevate the Vikings to contender status.
“I am welcome and open-minded to a change for the Vikings at quarterback. Whether it be Lamar Jackson which would be a crazy reach and I know that crazy things would have to get done to accomplish that,” Erdahl said. “At some point, teams have to change.”
Lamar Jackson Would Likely Cost Vikings 2 1st-Round Picks
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GettyESPN’s Bill Barnwell projected the Vikings would have to trade two first-round picks to land Lamar Jackson in a trade.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell assessed what a deal between the Vikings and Ravens for Jackson might look like.
“This probably would end up with the Ravens getting two first-round picks and Cousins for Jackson and a fifth-round selection,” Barnwell said, adding that the Vikings would need to sort out its tough financial situation to make a deal happen.
Cousins’ restructured contract would figuratively bankrupt the Vikings to the tune of a $38 million dead cap hit if he is traded before June 1. But after June 1, the Vikings would only have to eat $10 million for the next three seasons.
A three-team trade with the 49ers and Ravens could be considered. San Francisco would offer a first-round pick to Minnesota for Cousins and send Lance to Baltimore. Meanwhile, the Vikings would be their 2024 first-round pick and San Francisco’s first-rounder for Jackson.
Jackson would also need a new deal to agree to a trade with the Vikings, which would likely be a backloaded contract that could be lightened by a future extension for the 25-year-old.
Some veteran talent would have to be cut as well in what would be a “full Rams” move, which general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has expressed he’d prefer not go bet on.
Vikings Still Navigating Salary Cap Decisions Made by Past Regime
Since acquiring Cousins in 2018, the Vikings have maneuvered as a team looking to win now.
The Rick Spielman regime restructured several veteran contracts to make immediate cap space for the past several seasons. In turn, that’s led to massive dead cap payments for players who aren’t even on the team anymore.
Those decisions have bled into the new regime’s plans.
However, next offseason the Vikings should be in the green financially for the first time in years after making perennial cuts to get under the cap in years past.
A new quarterback or re-signing Cousins again will muddy that outlook, but for the moment, Minnesota has the cap flexibility to make major moves by the 2024 offseason.
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