Cousins-to-Denver Idea Takes a U-Turn
The likelihood of Kirk Cousins experiencing a trade to a different team is already somewhat low after recent comments from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell. And one of the top landing spots for Cousins in the event of a trade, the Denver Broncos, seems to understand it, too.
At the NFL Combine this week, O’Connell, the Vikings new head coach, affirmed Cousins is “their guy.”
And this is about the fifth time on record either O’Connell or Adofo-Mensah have echoed this sentiment in public. Every time one of the men is in public in front of a microphone, at least one person asks the same question — will Cousins be the quarterback in 2022?
The message is catching on. Mike Klis, who covers the Broncos for 9News in Denver, tweeted on Friday the Broncos don’t perceive Cousins as on the market for trade.
Klis is credible, and the quarterback market was supposed to be robust this offseason as names like Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz, and Cousins were figured to be for sale. Kyler Murray even teetered in the discussion for a moment (if he isn’t still now).
But as the rubber hit the road for trade talks, Klis highlights the arid nature of availability by the men who were once thought to be attainable for trade. The Seahawks allegedly turned down a mini-Godfather deal for Russell Wilson to the Washington Commanders. Watson is still awaiting his legal reckoning. Rodgers is doing Rodgers drama. And the Vikings seem to be content with Cousins.
Teams are looking to replicate what the Los Angeles Rams did in 2021, winning the Super Bowl after acquiring a “loser” quarterback. Even after a Super Bowl triumph in Los Angeles, Stafford’s “quarterback record,” a stat championed by folks some of the time but not all of the time, is 86-95-1. When someone says Stafford’s record out loud, it must be uttered in whisper because it alone nullifies quarterback record as a trustable metric.
Regardless, the Stafford experiment in Los Angeles worked — emphatically. The Rams sold the farm for Stafford — and others via trade for draft picks — and the plan worked, topping the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
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On Cousins’ availability, it comes down to money for the Vikings. The franchise wants him back at a reasonable value, necessitating a confrontation between the always-inflating market for quarterbacks and team need at other roster positions. Cousins with the Vikings at a $30-something-million price tag is a wise strategy. Yet, paying him $40 million or more — a sum his agent may be banging the table for — is unwise. Over and over in public discourse, Adofo-Mensah has opined roster construction is all about value — an example in plain view of his analytics approach to football.
Denver was one of the hotspots for Cousins if the Vikings indeed traded the man. But even Broncos brains are beginning to realize he likely isn’t going anywhere this offseason.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. 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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