Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, judged the biggest overreactions from week five of the NFL season on Monday afternoon.
One of his overreactions was that the Minnesota Vikings need to “seriously consider trading Kirk Cousins and planning for the future.” To Graziano, this is not an overreaction.
Buy Vikings TicketsHe outlined a few reasons why Minnesota should be all-in on the idea of trading Cousins and looking toward the future of the quarterback position.
Is the season over?
Graziano gave Minnesota their credit for keeping it close with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday but he does point out that the 2023 season is already losing its luster.
The Vikings gave the Chiefs a game on Sunday, don’t get me wrong. They got themselves in Hail Mary range at the end of the 27-20 loss before Cousins took a game-ending sack without getting the throw off. It’s not that the Vikings are a bad team that should throw in the towel. They’re competitive, in large part because Cousins is a good quarterback who helps keep them competitive — even against the best teams in the league.
They are, however, 1-4 after Sunday’s loss. They’re three games behind a very good-looking first-place Lions team in the NFC North. This year’s problems on defense look a lot like last year’s problems on defense. And star receiver Justin Jefferson hurt his hamstring on Sunday, and it sounds like there’s at least a chance he’ll miss some time.
The numbers make sense
Graziano continues to explain how the numbers of getting Cousins out before the end of his contract makes sense, and that it should be done sooner rather than later.
We’re three weeks from the trade deadline, and Cousins is in the final year of his contract. His base salary this season is $10 million, which means an acquiring team would have to pay him just $555,555 per week. Easy math: If the Vikings traded him this week, his new team would have to pay him $7.2 million for the rest of the season. If they traded him at the deadline, his new team would have to pay him $5.555 million for the rest of the season.
Cousins has an affordable salary and he’s playing well, with 1,498 passing yards and 13 touchdown throws. He could help someone, and the sooner he gets to the Jets or Falcons or whoever needs a real quarterback to maximize an otherwise strong roster, the better. He’d likely have to learn a new offense on the fly. Now, Cousins has a no-trade clause, and he and his family like it in Minnesota. This is an obstacle, and possibly one that couldn’t be overcome. But if Cousins is not in the Vikings’ 2024 plans, and they went to him and told him that and asked if he wanted them to deal him to a contender, you’d think he’d at least have to consider it.
This isn't last year
Let me know if you’ve heard this, the 2022 Vikings overachieved at a historic rate. Yes, they did, but now that they have come back to reality, they need to start looking towards the future, according to Graziano.
Clearly, the 2022 Vikings were overachievers in the first year under a new coach and new GM. Good for them. Things have turned around in 2023, though, and this team needs to be thinking about what the post-2023 plan is at QB. If that’s Cousins, cool. There are worse choices. But if it’s not, and if this coach and GM who didn’t bring in Cousins but inherited him decide they want to go another direction, it probably makes sense to see what they can get for him over the next couple of weeks.
Is Graziano's non-overreaction an overreaction?
Graziano has his points. It could make sense to go into the rebuilding part of this competitive rebuild sooner rather than later. It could make sense to look towards the future, instead of salvaging what little bit could be salvaged from this season.
Until you realize that there are 53 guys that are fighting every Sunday in purple and gold. It doesn’t make sense to them to start looking towards the future. Keep Cousins, let him finish his tenure as a Vikings quarterback. The 2024 draft has a ton of talent that could potentially be the next franchise signal-caller in Minnesota. From Caleb Williams and Drake Maye to Michael Penix, Jr. and J.J. McCarthy, there are plenty of flavors to choose from.
So, while this may not feel like an overreaction on the surface, trading Kirk not only is an overreaction, it’s also a move that signals surrender. If you have learned anything from the 2022 Vikings, it’s that this team does not surrender.
