If the Vikings Trade Kirk Cousins, They’ll Be Up to Their Old Tricks
In the last 30 years, the Minnesota Vikings have started 27 different men at the quarterback position.
That isn’t normal, nor is it a blueprint for sustained success.
Only teams like the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and New York Jets have more upheaval at the quarterback spot, and those clubs’ win percentage since 1991 does not approach the Vikings. Somehow, Minnesota has remained a respectable, winning franchise with 27 different signal-callers.
Full disclosure, these are those men: Wade Wilson, Rich Gannon, Sean Salisbury, Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Daunte Culpepper, Spergon Wynn, Todd Bouman, Gus Frerotte, Shaun Hill, Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger, Kelly Holcomb, Brett Favre, Joe Webb, Christian Ponder, Donovan McNabb, Josh Freeman, Matt Cassel, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, Kirk Cousins, and Sean Mannion.
As of late – because the franchise is embroiled in another mediocre season – current quarterback Kirk Cousins is linked to trade rumors, including organizations like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Cleveland Browns.
Since Cousins’ arrival in Minneapolis during the 2018 offseason, he’s been the source of criticism because of his contractual figure. Cousins was the first NFL quarterback to receive a fully guaranteed contract, and the team even extended him in 2020. He revises his contract at the time, relieving Minnesota’s cap in 2020 when he earned $21 million – a discount for a productive passer. But now is the time to pay the piper. Cousins is slated to earn $45 million in 2022, a number that drives some Vikings fans to the brink of madness.
In the four seasons Cousins has led the Vikings offense, he cumulatively ranks as follows:
- 5th in Touchdown Passes
- 6th in Passer Rating
- 10th in EPA+CPOE
These numbers are not good enough for a substantial bloc of Vikings fans. Cousins’ contract is the eighth-highest in the business among quarterbacks per average annual value. And that’s about where he ranks statistically among his peers – eighth-best or so.
But fans want him to be in a Top 3 tier, of which he is simply is not capable. What is the solution? For Vikings fans, that is trade Cousins and figure out the replacement on the fly. If you want to know why the Vikings have auditioned 27 quarterbacks in 30 years – you are watching it unfold in real-time live motion.
This. Is. What. Happens.
Fans believe in a Holy Grail where they can “draft their Mahomes,” and the solution is finally obtained. Surely, the man after Cousins at QB1 will be better than the Michigan State alumnus and challenge Patrick Mahomes for leaguewide stardom.
It’s fancy sunshine-and-rainbows daydreaming about the future.
In reality, Minnesota might be on the cusp of trading a quarterback who habitually ranks as between the 8th to 12th best in the NFL – for an unknown fix that might be better.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”928532″ player=”26279″ title=”4%20ideal%20offseason%20Kirk%20Cousins%20trade%20destinations” duration=”81″ description=”It’s time for the Minnesota Vikings to start making plans for the future, one that includes a 2022 offseason with a Kirk Cousins trade and an organizational reset after another disappointing season.Cousins will enter 2022 in a contract year, a position he and the Vikings are very familiar with. While the 33-year-old quarterback is playing at a high level, it’s evident he and the Vikings aren’t close to competing for the NFC North title or a Super Bowl.With that in mind, we examine the best Kirk Cousins trades that would benefit both the star quarterback and his teams.” uploaddate=”2021-12-22″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/928494_s_1640136316410.jpg” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/928494/928494.m3u8″]
Cousins’ skillset is designed to pass the football from the pocket. He is not overly mobile. Well, the Vikings surrounded Cousins with an underwhelming pass-blocking offensive line, wishing and praying that it would lead to Super Bowl bliss.
It has not.
Instead of, once and for all, fixing the trenches for the team’s pocket passer, the Vikings could be on the cusp of casting Cousins aside for a pipe dream – the phantom Mahomes clone, if you will.
Trying a different quarterback is fine and dandy after the team fails to qualify for the postseason in successive seasons. Just know, though, the next guy probably won’t toss 4,000+ passing yards and 30+ touchdowns like clockwork. Few do.
Minnesota’s draft solutions at quarterback amid the last three decades didn’t work out. From Daunte Culpepper, Christian Ponder, to Teddy Bridgewater, no homegrown passer has anchored the franchise for 10+ years. Therefore, general manager Rick Spielman took a flyer on a productive quarterback while failing to fortify the trenches necessary for the man to wholly thrive.
This is exactly why the Vikings ride the quarterback carousel more than others. Bad luck permeates their draft picks – and then, with an itchy trigger finger, they sell on quarterbacks they deem ineffective.
Cousins would merely be the latest chapter in the Vikings lack of quarterback continuity. The Vikings — and the team’s fans — are incapable of embracing a quarterback for more than a handful of seasons.
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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