Vikings Pushing Blockbuster Trade to Replace Cousins, Insider Reveals

Getty Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell (left) and quarterback Kirk Cousins.

During Super Bowl week, ESPN deemed the Minnesota Vikings as a team poised to trade up to the No. 3 spot in the upcoming draft to replace Kirk Cousins —  speculation that KSTP’s Darren Wolfson has since confirmed the Vikings have put into motion.

Wolfson reported on February 22 that the Vikings took the New England Patriots‘ temperature on a potential deal while at the Senior Bowl, the college football all-star game held in Mobile, Alabama, the week before the Super Bowl.

“Down in Mobile, there was a seed planted, with New England, by the Vikings,” Wolfson said on SKOR North’s “Mackey and Judd” podcast. “That seed was planted in terms of ‘Hey, is there even any interest on your front to move off that number 3 pick?’ “

Although Wolfson said talks have not advanced, the Vikings’ pass at the Patriots confirms Minnesota is in the market to make a potential blockbuster move during the draft after months of speculation surrounding the future at quarterback.

Wolfson did not say the two teams are currently in talks. However, the NFL Scouting Combine, starting Monday, February 26, is the venue and opportunity for the Vikings to touch base on all possible moves ahead of free agency on March 13.

“I’m not suggesting talks have advanced; it was one of those ‘Hey, we’ll circle back to you,’ presumably next week at the Combine in Indianapolis,” Wolfson said.

Vikings Inclined to Trade Up in NFL Draft If They Move on From Kirk Cousins: Insider

Getty2024 NFL draft quarterback prospects Drake Maye (left), Caleb Williams (middle) and Jayden Daniels (right)

Vikings fans have rarely seen the team take a big swing on a quarterback in the draft; the franchise has never selected a quarterback inside the top 10.

That could change if the Vikings, currently holding the No. 11 overall pick, can maneuver a trade — a possibility Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling believes has a stronger chance than the team just waiting to see which prospect lands to them outside the top 10.

“They were thinking about Caleb Williams and Drake Maye even at this point last year. There’s been a lot of work done in this building through the course of the fall on these rookie QBs,” Goessling said on a December 28 episode of the Star Tribune’s “Access Vikings. “If they were to say, ‘We have to be in the top five to get one of these guys, or the top two or three to get one of these guys, I don’t think they’re going to let that hold them back.

“I really think, based on the way they operated last year and the things I’ve heard,  if they see there is an opportunity to get the guy of the next 20 years, they are not going to let something stop them from doing it,” Goessling added. “I really believe, based on how they think about this position and some of the things I’ve heard about the ways they may approach this draft, I just don’t think they’re going to be pennywise and tomfoolish. They’re not going to be spendthrift about it.”

Kirk Cousins Breaks Silence on Contract Talks Ahead of Free Agency: Exclusive

GettyQB Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings and Cousins have had months to agree upon an extension to keep the soon-to-be 36-year-old quarterback in Minnesota but have yet to put it in ink.

Like many negotiations at this time of the year, a decision may not come until moments before the free agency window opens on March 13.

Cousins’ camp will gauge his potential market in free agency at the NFL’s unofficial tampering period at the combine. There will likely be a final talk following in the weeks before the official tampering period opens on March 11, two days before free agency.

“Well, it’s still pretty early,” Cousins told Heavy’s Jonathan Adams in an exclusive interview during Super Bowl week. “We don’t start talking detailed stuff with the Vikings and then eventually with other teams potentially until we get to March.

“So, we’re still kind of just waiting around. But it’s a little bit of that unknown where you wish things were more solid and decided and you knew how to plan. And we’re both planners, we want to know where things are headed and you just don’t get to.”