For the Carolina Panthers and general manager Scott Fitterer, no stone shall go unturned in their search for a quarterback—even, perhaps, in the case of a $45 million guy who may or may not be available.
On Tuesday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport joined The Pat McAfee Show to try and tie the loose ends of what’ll be an intriguing offseason on the quarterback market. Of those ends were the Panthers’ reported interest in Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins—a call the Rapoport believes won’t gain any more traction moving forward.
“I feel like the new coaching staff in Minnesota is good for Kirk Cousins,”
he said. “Kevin O’Connell and his guys there—they view Cousins as someone they can build around, not someone they can replace. Honestly, it’s also very hard to replace him anyway. Contract’s fully guaranteed and there’s massive cap implications if they move on.”
Cousins, who is coming off his third Pro Bowl campaign, is set to earn $45 million in 2022. This past season saw the 33-year-old toss for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his attempts.
On Monday, SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad reported that the Panthers made a call to the Vikings, inquiring on the availability of Cousins. But Rapoport, again, thinks it’s just a case of Carolina covering their bases.
“So I think with the Panthers—my guess is, at some point, they will probably call on everyone, ’cause they are obviously looking for a quarterback,” he added. “So I don’t think there’s anything there. I think Cousins will be back.”
It appears it’s time for Fitterer, Matt Rhule and the Panthers to find a different base then.
