Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had his best game of the 2021 season against (you guessed it) the Carolina Panthers. The 33-year-old led his team to a 34-28 overtime victory in Week 6, having passed for 373 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions at Bank of America Stadium.
Well, that might’ve made quite an impression on head coach Matt Rhule.
On Monday’s edition of Purple Daily, Judd Zulgad of SKOR North noted that the Panthers recently inquired about the three-time Pro Bowler—who is on the final year of a two-year, $66 million mega extension.
“They have gotten a call. Now, from what I’ve heard, it went nowhere so far,” Zulgad said. “But it’s interesting that the phone did ring at TCO [Stadium] in Eagen and on the other end of the line . . . the Carolina Panthers.
“Quarterback-desperate. Panicked, I’m sure. I think if Matt Rhule and the Panthers don’t have a successful 2022, he’s probably going to be fired ’cause that has not worked out. They cast their lot, in 2021, with Sam Darnold—didn’t work out. And so I’ve heard that the Panthers . . . now the Vikings supposedly said ‘Hey, let’s put a pin in that conversation. We don’t plan to move him now.'”
With Cousins set to earn a whooping guarantee of $45 million in 2022 and the Vikings moving into a fresh regime with new head coach Kevin O’Connell, rumblings of a pay cut for the 33-year-old have surfaced in Minnesota. And Cousins’ presumed refusal to entertain such an option (and why would he?) is what may keep a potential trade to Carolina alive according to Zulgud.
“But putting the pieces of the puzzle together—Kirk’s demands, or refusal to take a pay cut, leaves me to believe that the Vikings at least would have the possibility of picking that phone back up,” he added.
As of now, it seems as though O’Connell is looking forward to working alongside Cousins—as they did in 2017. But if money talks, it may have plenty to say about whether the Vikings end up keeping their quarterback or reeling in a sucker to take him off their hands.
