This is a nauseating conversation, right? We have had this every single season since Kirk Cousins joined the team. Why has this been a constant?
Cousins hasn’t delivered what he was brought to Minnesota to do: win a Super Bowl.
He was thought to be the one player that would put the Vikings over the top and get them past the NFC Championship Game, but they haven’t made it past the divisional round. Heck, they have only made it to the divisional round one time.
The raw stats have always been good but that’s not the issue here. The issues have been far more rooted in situational football and the intangibles Cousins doesn’t possess. Those talks got accellerated when he wouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine, essentially splitting the fanbase down the middle.
This season, the Vikings are at a crossroads on how to approach the future. With the future in mind, here are five reasons the Vikings should trade Cousins this offseason.
Age
We’ve been spoiled over the past decade with quarterbacks playing at an MVP level past their age 35 season. Tom Brady is the ultimate anomaly at the position, having been the runner up for the NFL MVP. Along with that, Aaron Rodgers just won back-to-back MVP during his age 37 and 38 seasons. That just wasn’t the case for quarterbacks before now.
Peyton Manning dropped off of a cliff hard at age 38 and Russell Wilson showed signs of declining this past year at age 34. With Cousins about to enter his age 35 season, it could be wise to move on one year too early than a year too late.
The Vikings might not content for two or more years
The Vikings are in a very weird position right now. They are currently $23.2 million over the salary cap and are coming off a 13-4 season where they over-achieved. Instead of doing a soft rebuild last offseason, they chose to run it back and try to win. It didn’t come to fruition and with the cap situation, they will likely have to move on from some high-priced veterans.
With the Vikings having to make some really tough decisions, getting some value for Cousins in the trade market and going with a young option at quarterback could make a lot of sense. The Vikings would save slightly under $18 million on the salary cap and potentially set up 2024 for a long playoff run.
Was last season an anomaly?
One of the main criticisms that Cousins received over his time with the Vikings was that he was a stat padder and didn’t try to challenge the defense down the field. He was comfortable throwing it short for the “perfect” throw rather than trusting his weapons to make a play.
That changed somewhat this season. Cousins trusted his weapons down the field, especially Justin Jefferson. Unfortunately, old habits came back to bite him on the last play of the season when he threw the ball five yards short of the first down sticks. Was this past season of aggressiveness an aberration or did he buck the trend of teaching an “old dog” new tricks?
Teams need a veteran quarterback
This offseason has multiple teams looking for veteran stability at the position this offseason and making Cousins available would shoot him up to the top of the pool. He would, depending on your opinions of Derek Carr, be the best quarterback available on the market.
That could be a very appealing element to multiple teams that want a player of Cousins caliber. The most intriguing of those is the San Francisco 49ers. They showed that a steady, talented hand at quarterback is likely the one thing that will get them over the hump and bring the 49ers their sixth Super Bowl Championship.
Other teams that could have interest: Tampa Bay, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers
Creating off-platform should be a focus
Today’s NFL is much different at the quarterback position than it was even a decade ago. Pocket passers used to be what the league wanted at the position, but now the league is looking for playmakers. The main thing that wins football games in today’s NFL is creating outside of structure when the play breaks down.
While he has shown a small amount of aptitude in doing so, Cousins isn’t someone who wins outside of structure with any form of consistency. Even traditional pocket passer Joe Burrow has shown to be great outside of structure and creating when the play breaks down. With the NFL making that such a massive priority with how defenses are evolving, the Vikings would be smart to prioritize a quarterback who can do just that.
Who could be the next Vikings quarterback?
One of the big issues with trading Kirk Cousins is the discussion on who would replace him. If you want to improve at the position, you have to take a chance on a player that might not end up being as good as his predecessor. There is the chance that he ends up being better if you pursue the right quarterback.
There will be a few options for the Vikings to look at for a replacement for Cousins and some will be better than others.
- San Francisco 49ers’ Trey Lance
- New York Jets’ Zach Wilson
- Florida’s Anthony Richardson
- BYU’s Jaren Hall
What will he get in a trade?
This is where things could get murky. His trade market is going to be determined on multiple levels. One of which will be the demand, How many teams wanting Cousins will play a major factor in what he fetches in a trade.
The best comparable is the Matthew Stafford trade that fetched the Lions two firsts, a third and Jared Goff. I don’t think he comes close to that, but a first round pick isn’t out of the question. If the team you are trading sends a young quarterback in return, it could make the most sense.
Predicted Value: First round pick or second round pick plus
