One year into the Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the quarterback position. Kirk Cousins has been the starting quarterback for the last five seasons but those seasons have been marred with both mediocrity and off-season questions.
That is even more so this year, as Cousins is entering both the final season of his contract and his age 35 season. Because of his age, a long-term extension doesn’t feel very likely. His no-trade clause hinders the Minnesota Vikings from moving him without permission from the quarterback himself.
CBS Sports looked into exploring different trade proposals from around the league and they proposed that the Vikings send Cousins to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2023 third-round pick and 2024 second-round pick.
You thought Rodgers was the only NFC North QB set for a big move? Cousins is the contemporary poster child for the middle-tier QB; while his resume and traits have a surefire ceiling, he’s been too productive to convince his bosses that the alternative — a total rebuild — is worth the risk. But Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is forward-thinking, and the 49ers know better than anyone how important it is to have multiple options under center. Reuniting Cousins with Kyle Shanahan would allow both Trey Lance and Brock Purdy to be patient in rehab and/or actively shopped down the road. As for the Vikings? Freed of annual re-commitments to Cousins, they could explore a trade up in the draft and/or a cheaper placeholder (old friend Teddy Bridgewater?) as they restock premium positions on both sides of the ball.
This would be interesting on many levels. We know the affinity that Shanahan has had with Cousins for a long time. The 49ers were going to aggressively pursue him in 2018, but they traded for Jimmy Garoppolo at the trade deadline instead.
The price for Cousins would be very similar to the trade compensation in recent years as Alex Smith, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan received. All of them were in different situations to Cousins, but that feels about right in terms of what the Vikings would receive back.
Would the Vikings take that? Probably, but they would need to have an option lined up to replace Cousins in the meantime, something I don’t think they currently do. They could sign an Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston while drafting and developing a player in either the first round or on day two, but it would likely signal a big move up in this year’s NFL draft.
There is currently no indication that the Vikings or Kirk Cousins are willing to make that happen as of now, but anything can happen before Cousins’ $20 million roster bonus vests on March 17th.
