Cousins Theorized to Different NFC Team in 2022
Dustin Baker
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The future is unclear for Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings, sitting at 5-6 through 12 weeks of 2021.
The Vikings could finish the season hot, skidding into the playoffs with NFC’s sixth or seventh seed. Or – they could flop and miss the postseason entirely, ushering in an era of change for a team employing the same coach for eight years.
And if Minnesota goes in a different direction at quarterback – Cousins is slated to earn $45 million in 2022 – the Pioneer Press’ Charley Waters has thoughts.
Cousins would have to be traded to wiggle out of his Vikings contract as the $45 cap hit is guaranteed. But if general manager Rick Spielman – or his theoretical successor – was interested, Waters believes Cousins would fit wonderfully with the New Orleans Saints. Waters wrote:
“Cousins, 33, is guaranteed $35 million next year, with a salary cap hit of $45 million. On the open market, Cousins, who has played well, probably would get a similar deal. Hint: It’s a good bet he would thrive under offensive-minded Saints coach Sean Payton.”
The Saints are in a goofy spot at quarterback, losing reclamation project Jameis Winston for the rest of the season to a knee injury. Since his departure, New Orleans has gobbled on a Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill sandwich, leading to a temporary jettison from the NFC’s playoff picture. The Saints possess a very good defense, but the offense does not tick without Winston – who was good, not great – or, of course, future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees.
And Waters is absolutely correct. If the Vikings decided to finish the Cousins Experiment in 2021, New Orleans would be a dazzling destination for the 33-year-old. The Saints brought the aforementioned Brees aboard in the mid-2000s, and he totally revamped the franchise. Cousins isn’t quite as dependable as Brees, but the two men have similar quarterbacking traits.
Plus, Sean Payton is perceived by most as an offensive guru. If anybody can tap the optimal version of Cousins at all times, it’s a coach like Payton. Cousins stockpiles tremendous stats, yet something always tends to derail team success. For example, Cousins was signed in 2018 to put the Vikings over the top after an unforeseen 2017 NFC Championship appearance. However, every year since his arrival, Mike Zimmer’s defense has become worse. It’s rather odd.
Cousins to New Orleans is a sensible idea – particularly if the Vikings want to kickstart the Kellen Mond era or draft a different quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft – but Minnesota and New Orleans would need to solve the financial side of things. As of December 2021, the Saints are in the nastiest spot in the NFL for projected 2022 cap space, underwater to the tune of $60 million. The same ordeal was evident last offseason, too, but New Orleans brass found a way around the financial skullduggery. They’d have to do it again if Cousins was on their menu.
Notably, Cousins and the Vikings knocked off Payton’s Saints in the 2019 playoffs, so New Orleans knows firsthand what he brings to the table.
Aside from the Saints money conundrum and mystery on knowing the Vikings future plans for Cousins, the Michigan State alumnus would succeed in New Orleans.
It’s getting him there via trade that is tricky. Oh, and that part about Cousins compiling 24 total touchdowns to just three interceptions through 11 games. Why would the Vikings want to get rid of that?
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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