Steam picks up for Kirk Cousins trade to Jets

An 0-3 start isn’t the best situation for the 2023 Minnesota Vikings. The minus-seven turnover differential is frustrating and the main reason why they haven’t been able to pull out a win.

Ever since New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon just four plays into the 2023 season, there has been a lot of speculation amongst the media about a potential trade for Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

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Even though general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has said that the Vikings will not be tanking, the idea of trading Cousins to the Jets continues to be brought up.

USA Today’s Nate Davis is the latest analyst to make that case.

So why not send Wilson, 24, and, say, two third-round picks – the Jets spent next year’s second-rounder on Rodgers – to the Vikings for Cousins, 35, who’s scheduled to be a free agent at season’s end? With Rodgers vowing to return better than ever, there’s no reason to believe the Jets will pick up Wilson’s fifth-year option next spring. Yet there is reason to believe a quarterback of Cousins’ caliber – at least as it pertains to regular-season play – could reroute this entire organization in a positive direction culturally, if even as a substitute teacher.

The one thing that continues to get missed from this conversation is that the Vikings aren’t going to tank the season, let alone doing it after just three games. Now, the Vikings are likely moving on from at the end of the season, but it’s not in Adofo-Mensah’s DNA based on his own comments since taking over as Vikings general manager.

It might make sense from the outside, but here’s the thing. These analysts aren’t taking into consideration how this Vikings regime is running. Things could change if the Vikings end up struggling mightily and Adofo-Mensah decides to sell at the trade deadline his expiring contracts to get guaranteed assets back for them. That would include Cousins, assuming he is willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Time will tell how things develop, but it’s time to at least acknowledge the reality of the situation and not fantasy book a trade.