The Price Tag for a Kirk Cousins Trade Just Went Way Up
In late January 2021, the Los Angeles Rams traded Jared Goff, a 2021 3rd-Round pick and 1st-Round picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford.
The Lions continue to rebuild – and the Rams are heading to Super Bowl LVI.
Indeed, the Rams mortgaged their future with draft picks – they do this a lot – for an all-in shot with Stafford and players like Odell Beckham, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods. The roster is so marvelous, sometimes it’s no wonder Los Angeles is heading to February football.
But the Super Bowl expectations for the Rams lurched when Stafford came aboard. Write that down. Ex-Rams signal-caller Jared Goff was quite good for about a year and a half, and he, too, guided Los Angeles to a Super Bowl appearance, losing to the New England Patriots three years ago.
In Detroit, Stafford performed well most of the time, yet the team around him was usually underwhelming. Finally, he and the Lions encountered a crossroads, deciding both parties needed a fresh start.
Stafford won.
Statistically, Stafford is remarkably similar to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. The masses and media afford Cousins no such “daring” treatment like Stafford enjoys, but by the numbers, Stafford and Cousins are not worlds apart.
Matthew Stafford vs. Kirk Cousins,
Last 50 Starts:
Stafford —
1,722 Pass Attempts
13,334 Passing Yards
93 Passing TDs
37 INTs
65.39 Comp %
97.9 Passer Rating
Cousins —
1,603 Pass Attempts
12,689 Passing Yards
100 Passing TDs
27 INTs
67.56 Comp %
105.1 Passer Rating
During the 2021 offseason – with a new general manager, no less – the Vikings have their own Lions-like decision to make. That is – trade Cousins to a team who can better use his skillset or build a team around him. This is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s new burden.
Cousins’ trade value now escalates thanks to the Rams reaching the Super Bowl. Rational football minds residing in NFL front offices will parallel Cousins to Stafford based on the numbers. Give Cousins a Beckham, Ramsey, Miller, Donald, Kupp, Woods, and watch what happens. Football is the ultimate team sport, not quarterbacks flinging the ball against like a slingshot to themselves. Surrounding Stafford – who was acquired for a king’s ransom from Detroit – with mass roster talent worked. A franchise could do the same for Cousins and reasonably expect to prosper.
[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″]
Had the 2021 experiment with Stafford and the Rams failed with a San Francisco 49ers defeat, a little bit of stink would exist on Los Angeles trading expansive draft capital to get their man. But there is no stink now.
It worked for Stafford – even though he made humongous, naughty mistakes in spots throughout the 2021 season. Cousins makes those, too. However, Stafford’s teammates masked those errors, sending the Rams to the Super Bowl.
That can happen to Cousins, too, if the Vikings want to move on. And now, because of the Los Angeles experiment, Cousins’ trade price tag is higher.
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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