Getty 49ers' Brock Purdy is predicted to lose his job to Kirk Cousins.
There are bold predictions — and we’re getting plenty of those these days as the NFL lurches into its offseason — and then there are way-off-the-wall predictions, the kind that might well shatter one’s crystal ball were they to present themselves.
That’s what we’ve got from SI.com’s Conor Orr, whose “bold prediction” for the San Francisco 49ers is a change at quarterback after this year’s Super Bowl loss, with the team signing rehabbing star Kirk Cousins to replace Brock Purdy.
Off-the-wall, indeed. But not entirely crazy, especially in the context of coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledging that the team considered trying to lure Tom Brady out of retirement this year to make a Super Bowl run with Purdy developing behind him.
There would be serious questions about a move such as this, starting with how, exactly, the 49ers could finagle enough cap space to make such a signing. Cousins, after all, is projected by Pro Football Focus to get a two-year, $60 million contract. At Spotrac, Cousins is projected to reap a three-year, $118 million deal. But with the weapons at the 49ers’ disposal and the team’s proven willingness to take risks, Cousins would be a very attractive fit.
Kirk Cousins Up for a 2-Year Deal?
Let’s start with Orr’s justification for the move. He wrote:
“The 49ers will sign Kirk Cousins to a two-year deal. Kyle Shanahan was really smart these past two weeks in making one talking point clear: He felt that signing Tom Brady and stashing Brock Purdy to the side was a benefit to Purdy and an investment. Could he be able to make the same claim about Cousins who, while less successful, does carry a certain amount of gravitas? Shanahan wants fast processors who don’t miss throws. His affinity for Cousins is known. If the 49ers plan on running it back, it makes sense to bolster the QB room.”
Shanahan’s aforementioned affinity for Cousins goes back to their time together with Washington, in 2012 and 2013. Shanahan advocated for Washington to draft Cousins, which they did in the fourth round out of Michigan State in 2012.
Cousins is a risk, though. He played only eight games in 2023 before tearing his Achilles tendon, a concerning injury for a player who will turn 36 in August. They were eight very impressive games, playing for a team many assumed would be heading into rebuilding mode. Minnesota went 4-4 with Cousins, and he threw for an average of 291.4 yards with a QB rating of 103.8, third in the NFL.
49ers’ Brock Purdy Saw Production Dip in Playoffs
Still, sidelining Purdy would be a drastic step for a quarterback who just helped the team reach the Super Bowl, even if he struggled in the playoffs and was obviously thrown off on the biggest stage by the savvy Chiefs defense. Purdy threw for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last year, with a league-best 113.0 QB rating.
He threw just three touchdowns and an interception in three playoff games, and his rating plummeted to 88.3.
That’s where there is the temptation to add a veteran like Cousins to the mix. But then, when it comes to the playoffs, we might well know more about Purdy than we do about Cousins. He is 1-3 in his career as a playoff starter, though his play has been solid despite the record—209.4 yards per game, five touchdowns, one interception and a 93.7 quarterback rating.
It’s highly unlikely, of course, that the 49ers (who are about $11 million over the cap, per OverTheCap.com) would make a serious run at replacing Purdy with Cousins. But there is some logic there.