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Since the San Francisco 49ers asked Tom Brady to come out of retirement last year, why not “finagle” a way to sign Kirk Cousins this year?
That’s the idea posed by the “The Mackey & Judd” podcast hosts on February 22 — sign the four-time Pro Bowler and Minnesota Vikings star quarterback to a team-friendly deal. While speculation of Cousins joining forces with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan again has surfaced multiple times this offseason, the Niners’ $7.41 million over the salary cap remains the main obstacle.
“Like if we’re talking $30 [million] or $40 million a year, you could easily finagle it with a huge signing bonus … to have a low cap hit for 2024 and help the 49ers,” podcast host Phil Mackey said.
Shanahan once worked with Cousins when they were both members of the then-Washington Redskins in 2012 and 2013. As the 49ers head coach, Shanahan tried to trade for Cousins in 2017 according to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.
“If the Niners come calling. Done deal,” KTSP’s Darren Wolfson said on “The Mackey & Judd” podcast. “Now … the elephant in the room is their cap situation. How exactly are they creating the necessary cap space? I don’t even think Kirk would be looking to break the bank to go play for Kyle Shanahan.”
“We also know from on the record comments going back multiple years what Kyle thinks of Kirk,” Wolfson added. “Kyle thinks the world of Kirk. I can’t get off their cap situation … and hey, are we sure that Kirk is some sort of upgrade on [Brock] Purdy?”
Podcast host Judd Zulgad concurred with Wolfson that Cousins and the 49ers finding a way to join forces “can’t be completely dismissed” for 2024. Zulgad noted “this would be the situation where if Kirk is ever going to even get to the Super Bowl, this would be it” with the 49ers.
Niners Landing Kirk Cousins Could Resemble Another Recent Champion
Mackey sees it as a one-year situation and similar to that of the Los Angeles Rams when the team went all-in with quarterback Matthew Stafford to win a Super Bowl but paid the price later. The 49ers just came up short in the Big Game with Purdy at quarterback in a 25-22 loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Kirk would play ball with that,” Wolfson said. “Like, I could absolutely see it. That would be it for Kirk, right? The perfect situation.”
“For me, it does come down to where do the Niners stand,” Wolfson added. “Then what happens with Purdy? Is Purdy just the No. 2 then in San Francisco? How weird would that be?”
Niners QB Carousel Could Keep Spinning
Mackey recounted the quarterback carousel of recent years with the 49ers to make sense of it from Jimmy Garoppolo to Trey Lance to Purdy. The Niners benched a Super Bowl quarterback, traded a former No. 3 pick, and elevated a former Mr. Irrelevant in that order.
“It’s not logical from what most teams would do,” Mackey said. “If they [49ers management] think they have already exhausted ‘this is the furthest we can go with this quarterback’, they have proven they will move off very good or highly drafted quarterbacks in the blink of an eye.”
Zulgad also floated the idea that he thinks the 49ers would trade Purdy if Cousins signs for two seasons. The hosts speculated the 49ers could get a first round draft for Purdy though the team would keep a Super Bowl quarterback as the backup if not.
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