Kirk Cousins to 49ers Rumors Hit Life Support
At the beginning of February – mere hours after the Matthew Stafford trade to the Los Angeles Rams – Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was fully embroiled in trade rumors. Primarily, his fake destination was the San Francisco 49ers as football brains forecasted a reunion between Cousins and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The two crossed paths for two seasons in California when Robert Griffin III was ripping and roaring.
Therefore, folks believed Cousins was on the trade docket – for some reason – and he’d jog west to San Francisco.
Remember this gem?
#49ers still looking to make a move at QB. Kirk Cousins, I'm told, is a name to keep an eye on. If #Vikings are open to dealing, San Francisco will push hard to acquire him. Ties with Shanahan make this an intriguing potential fit.
— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) February 1, 2021
It never came to fruition.
What about this bold prediction?
Sounds like it will be Cousins in San Francisco but either way I still think Jimmy G starts the opener for the Pats. 🤷♂️
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) February 1, 2021
Sounds like Tucker was incorrect about Cousins.
Why? Because the 49ers sent their 12th overall pick and 3rd-Rounder from the 2021 NFL Draft, and two 1st-Round picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Miami Dolphins for the 3rd overall pick in this April’s draft. Yes, four picks to move up nine spots.
That means – emphatically – San Francisco will draft a quarterback with the third pick. If they do not, well, their asset management is dastardly.
By the time that the 49ers figure out if their 2021 rookie quarterback is any good, Cousins will be about 36 or 37 years old.
The unsung spoils of the 49ers-Dolphins transaction from a Vikings perspective are that Cousins is going nowhere – especially not the 49ers. Cousins will be Minnesota’s QB1 in 2021 and probably beyond that.
Never Real to Begin With
Sure, it was reasonable that Cousins could have hypothetically landed in San Francisco. But it was all a fictitious narrative. The Vikings never led on to anyone that they planned to trade Cousins. In fact, the organization did the opposite. Every step of the way – whether it was Spielman or Mike Zimmer – the Vikings verbally committed and then some to Cousins. He is compensated handsomely. He’s their guy. Zimmer’s employment depends on Cousins thriving.
The trade fodder was probably cooked up by the 49ers to send pigeons on Cousins’ availability. Except he wasn’t for sale. In that vein, the aforementioned Massey tweet was fair to send out into the world. That is – San Francisco could have been very interested. But Tucker’s was garbage. It was a snippet wrapped in falsehood.
The latter part of Tucker’s tweet about Jimmy Garoppolo ending up with the New England Patriots, though, is still alive. The 49ers will draft either Zack Wilson, Trey Lance, or Justin Fields. With one of those young men in the holster, Garoppolo is wildly expendable. Belichick may want “his man” back.
Vikings Lukewarm on Garoppolo
The 49ers current quarterback, Garoppolo, has started more than six games in a season just one time during his career. And, he’s been in the NFL since 2014.
Why on earth would the Vikings want to sign up for that sort of shakiness? The team learned its lesson from the Sam Bradford era. Minnesota traded a 1st-Round pick – a depressing memory – for Bradford in 2016 when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was gravely injured. When Bradford was good – he was marvelous. However, his tenure with the team unceremoniously fizzled in 2017. Zimmer’s bunch responded by reaching the NFC Championship without him.
If Garoppolo had an injury history that was pristine – like, let’s say, Kirk Cousins – then maybe making that Cousins-Garoppolo swap would be worthwhile. Otherwise, the trade tomfoolery was silly. In terms of on-the-field availability, the exchange of Garppolo for Cousins is akin to Greg Oden for Al Horford – two commodities from the 2007 NBA Draft. Oden’s career was marred by injury whereas Horford has been steady for 14 years.
Uncertainty in Make-or-Break Year = No Thanks
Listen, the Vikings have to win in 2021. If they do not, wholesale change is on the itinerary. Plain and simple. Although Zimmer won’t admit this season is make-or-break, he must palpably know the stakes. So does Spielman.
Investing in Garoppolo’s shoddy resume when Cousins’ is flawless from an availability standpoint – is just dumb. And that’s why the trade never materialized.
The whole regime – Cousins, Zimmer, and Spielman – is saddled with win-now expectations. The threesome likely needs a playoff win and then some to return as a trio in 2022. Spielman’s track record is commendable, and he might survive the theoretical wrath if 2021 ends like 2020.
But Zimmer and Cousins will become nostalgia fragments if 2021 is underwhelming. Trading quarterbacks – the most important position on a football team – was never going to occur.
Especially when Garoppolo was the reciprocity.