Getty Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings signals at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Kirk Cousins was already an intriguing trade prospect but after the events of Tuesday, March 8, the Minnesota Vikings QB has suddenly become the belle of the NFL’s offseason ball.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will return to the team next season, while the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to deal Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. As a result, the list of high-quality signal callers available via trade has thinned, while the corresponding interest in an established entity like Cousins has presumably swelled.
Chad Graff of The Athletic Minnesota posited that the momentous developments of the day may have rattled the league’s foundations enough to dislodge the Vikings from their long-established position on Cousins’ future.
The Vikings have insisted several times they’re keeping Kirk Cousins. But … with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson off the market, Cousins is probably the best available option. Minnesota’s plan is to keep Cousins, but what if a QB-needy team makes a crazy offer?
“The Vikings have insisted several times they’re keeping Kirk Cousins,” Graff tweeted. “But … with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson off the market, Cousins is probably the best available option. Minnesota’s plan is to keep Cousins, but what if a QB-needy team makes a crazy offer?”
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Vikings Already Have Trade Suitor For Cousins in Carolina Panthers
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Graff’s notion of a “crazy offer” may not be so crazy, after all. In fact, it could already be in play.
The Carolina Panthers are desperate for a quarterback and didn’t mind showing their cards in that regard when they reached out to Minnesota to inquire about Cousins in late February. The Vikings did what any team with leverage in a trade discussion would do — they hung up the phone, but not before leaving open the possibility of connecting again for further discussions down the road.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus on February 22 published a list of trades to watch for this offseason. Among them was a proposal that included the Panthers sending the Vikings their first-round pick in 2022 and their second-round selection in 2023 in return for Cousins.
“From Minnesota’s perspective, new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and new head coach Kevin O’Connell start fresh, working through a down 2022 season while building around phenom wide receiver Justin Jefferson,” Spielberger wrote. “Carolina gave up most of its 2022 draft capital for quarterback Sam Darnold, among other moves, but if any general manager wouldn’t fall for the fallacy that is placing a time value on draft picks, one would think it’s Adofo-Mensah.”
Spielberger’s proposal was crafted before the respective futures of Rodgers and Wilson were determined. With fewer hypothetical options to play against the Vikings in any negotiation, the price the Panthers would be willing to pay for Cousins has presumably just gone up.
Moving Off Cousins’ Problematic Contract May Have Value For Vikings
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter of a game at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 26, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
The Vikings’ reasons to trade Cousins may extend beyond the inflated value they could now reasonably expect in return for their quarterback, either from the Panthers or some other trade partner.
Namely, the final year of Cousins’ contract poses several problems for Minnesota. First off, it’s enormous. The Vikings are on the hook for the QB’s $10 million bonus no matter what, and that’s before trying to roster build around his $35 million base salary.
The second issue is that Cousins’ deal expires following the 2022 season, which puts the Vikings in a precarious position. They can extend Cousins now, but that also means committing to the 33-year-old for several more seasons. While traditional statistics and advanced analytics both confirm Cousins is a top-end NFL quarterback, his on-field results have proven decidedly less convincing.
Trading Cousins brings cap relief and affords Minnesota opportunity to rebuild areas of the team in dire need of attention, namely a weak secondary and an ailing edge rush. The move also allows O’Connell to draft and/or sign a QB around whom he can build a new offensive system from the ground up. The other side of that coin is any sort of project under center could risk alienating Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook, two Pro-Bowl skill players in the heart of their primes.
The decision is far from easy or simple, as Graff noted, but external developments throughout the NFL Tuesday have the potential to meaningfully influence Minnesota’s internal decision making process. In short, the more value the Vikings can get for Cousins’ expiring contract, the more likely they are to deal him — and the QB’s value just made a significant leap.
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