Rumors are swirling once again about the Minnesota Vikings potentially trading starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to the San Francisco 49ers. Yes, the rumors are incredibly annoying to hear for what feels like the 15th time, but it was this comment from CBS Sports’ Adam Schein saying the 49ers would “unequivocally” be the best team in the NFL next season.
.@AdamSchein explains why he thinks the 49ers ideal move is trading for Kirk Cousins.
"If San Francisco makes that kind of trade, we are talking about the San Francisco 49ers unequivocally being the best team and the team to beat in the NFL this season." pic.twitter.com/pitogzjNhm
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 20, 2023
But wait, I was told that Cousins wasn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl? How can Cousins make the 49ers unequivocally the best team in the league?
Our friend at The Daily Norseman Christopher Gates wrote about Cousins being Schrodinger’s quarterback and it makes some sense, but it misses the mark on one point
Cousins would be viewed as the final piece, not the centerpiece.
The Vikings signed Cousins in 2018 to be a mercenary. They had a Super Bowl-caliber roster that many, including the Vikings, thought was a quarterback away from getting there. Case Keenum had a really good outlier season in 2017 leading the Vikings within 60 minutes of a Super Bowl berth. With the massive question marks surrounding all three Vikings quarterbacks after the 2017 season, the went with Cousins to be the final piece to the puzzle.
The thinking was that Cousins would put the Vikings over the top with a loaded roster that had Stefon Diggs, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen on offense and the number one defense in football. Theoretically, all Cousins would need to do is play capable football. Things didn’t work out for many reasons and we are here continuing to talk about Cousins.
Sending him to San Francisco sounds pretty much the same, right?
In 2022, they started three quarterbacks with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo breaking their ankles during the year. They finished the season starting rookie Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy who tore his UCL in the NFC Championship Game. They have the weapons in Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. They also return the number-one-scoring defense and have an offensive genius in Kyle Shanahan.
It’s not that Cousins is all of a sudden a Super Bowl quarterback by going to the 49ers, but being that much of an improvement at the position based on what they had prior fits the same motif. Cousins is a hired mercenary to be the capable quarterback for a great team and nothing more.
