There had been some talk about the Minnesota Vikings pulling off a trade of impending free agent Kirk Cousins after an 0-3 start to the season.
Star Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson even opened up about this prior to Minnesota’s first win of the season against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
It makes sense to an extent. Minnesota pushed back against signing Cousins to an extension this past offseason. The Vikings also aren’t able to place the franchise tag on their star quarterback due to his contract structure.
But it doesn’t look like anything is going to happen between now and the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Vikings have no plans to trade Cousins before the deadline.
“Two team sources said the Vikings are not punting on the season and have no plans to trade Cousins, who would have to waive his no-trade clause to be moved,” report on Kirk Cousins trade rumors
Even after getting their first win of the season, the Vikings find themselves two games behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North. It looks like this team is going nowhere fast.
Despite this, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Co. are not looking at initiating a fire sale with the franchise quarterback. Whether this changes ahead of the deadline will likely be dependent on what the Vikings do moving forward.
The Vikings don’t have an easy schedule before Halloween. They take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs next week. After visiting the Chicago Bears, Minnesota hosts the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. Then, two days before the deadline, the Vikes take to Lambeau Field for a divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Related: Ranking Kirk Cousins among NFL starting quarterbacks
Should the Minnesota Vikings consider a Kirk Cousins trade?
As noted above, things can change between now and the NFL trade deadline. If Minnesota finds itself out of contention and doesn’t view Cousins as a long-term option, moving him to a quarterback-needy team actually makes a ton of sense.
There is no dead cap hit after the 2023 season, meaning that the Vikings can simply start anew. The complication here comes in the form of the NFL’s best wide receiver, Justin Jefferson. He is going to want a record-breaking contract extension next offseason. Initiating a rebuild might not sit well with the star pass-catcher.
As for potential landing spots, the New York Jets could make sense with Aaron Rodgers lost for the season and Zach Wilson struggling.
- Kirk Cousins stats (career): 66.8% completion, 38,215 yards, 261 TD, 107 INT
Despite his reputation around the football world, Cousins is underrated in the grand scheme of things. He could act as a stopgap option for a team in need of a QB1.
As with how Minnesota performs over the next month or so, injuries at quarterback to other teams could end up playing a role in the decision-making process.