Kirk Cousins
In the next three months, new Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must decide to trade Kirk Cousins or extend his contract by a couple of years. Cousins is scheduled to generate a $45 million cap hit in 2022, a mark the Vikings cannot afford, nor is the 33-year-old worth that much.
The hypothetical trade could happen next week. It could happen on draft day. No trade may occur at all.
Regardless, these are the top seven landing spots for Cousins via trade if Adofo-Mensah pulls the trigger, ranked from least-likely to most-likely.
The New Orleans Saints were excluded due to salary cap hell.
This is possible for one reason — if Tom Brady contemplates his future and walks away into retirement. Tampa Bay would be quarterbackless, auditioning Kyle Trask, signing a lackluster free-agent veteran not as productive as Cousins, or selecting another rookie passer in the 2022 NFL Draft.
While Brady is significantly better than Cousins, the current Vikings quarterback could keep the Buccaneers relevant as that roster is constructed beautifully. Plus, Tampa Bay wouldn’t have Brady’s cap hit any longer, meaning the $35 million juice from Cousins’ 2022 cap hit would be less painful. No matter where Cousins lands if traded, the Vikings will have to absorb at least $10 million.
Cousins could perform well in Tampa Bay, and Tampa Bay could perform well with Cousins — Brady-lite to keep the Super Bowl window open.
The Seahawks are strange right now, fresh off the steam of their first lousy season in a decade. Too, the general population is unsure if Russell Wilson wants to remain in the Emerald City. Last year, Wilson’s agent slid a shortlist of trade destinations to the media, so Wilson is clearly thinking about Phase Two of his illustrious career.
And yes, in theory, this could mean Wilson-to-Vikings. It’s unlikely because the Vikings are embedded in an era with a quarterback commanding a humongous cap hit. Wilson’s knapsack of cash would be even heftier than Cousins’ in the long run.
Yet, Adofo-Mensah is the wildcard. Perhaps he desires to make the Vikings contenders on Day One. Wilson to the Vikings does just that. This would toss Cousins onto the Seahawks depth chart. And don’t rule out the possibility of a three-way trade, sending Wilson to a non-Vikings spot, Cousins to Seattle, and draft picks into Adofo-Mensah’s wallet.
Like Wilson to Minnesota, this trade would involve Deshaun Watson to the Vikings or another three-way deal. Watson to Minnesota was already submitted to the digital stratosphere by an NFL analyst named Jordan Schultz last week.
Watson soured on the Texans at some point in the last two years, and his alleged shady antics soured the Texans organization on him — or so goes the working theory. If Watson cleans up his massage-related affairs with the legal system, he’ll play football somewhere in 2022. Houston will need a quarterback if it is not sold on Davis Mills, a 3rd-Round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft.
With some apt roster-building, Cousins could help make the Texans relevant again after a two-season plunge to futility.
Past-prime Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Darnold could not win this brand of Panthers. Maybe Cousins can change habits in North Carolina. The Panthers are likely to switch quarterbacks annually until settling on one who makes the win-loss record right-side up.
Do you believe Newton or Darnold will be the QB1 for Carolina in 2022? No, you don’t. The Panthers will either draft their next guy in April or exist in the Rodgers, Wilson, Watson, or Cousins Sweepstakes’.
Panthers general manager David Tepper is aggressive at the quarterback position and has $19 million in cap space this offseason. Cousins’ 30+ touchdowns per season would pair with a phenomenal Panthers defense rather nicely.
Adofo-Mensah arrived Minnesota from the Browns front office. That means something in negotiation circles.
The Browns can probably win with a QB1 as productive as Cousins, Baker Mayfield needs one more season to prove he’s a legitimate passer (he could try that in Minnesota), Kevin Stefanski runs the show in Cleveland, and Adofo-Mensah knows absolutely everybody in the Browns front office. There are flashing lights everywhere on this.
A Cousins trade to the Browns is more real than ever before if Adofo-Mensah is not sold as Cousins for the future of the Vikings. He could send Cousins packing to Cleveland while the Vikings received Mayfield and visions of grandeur to heal the man up from 2021 injuries, thus restoring his 1st-overall-pick promise. Adofo-Mensah could also hedge that bet, placing Mayfield into the starting lineup for the Vikings during the final year of Mayfield’s rookie deal (2022) while drafting a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft to compete and learn from Mayfield. And that’s if Adofo-Mensah and the new head coach don’t like Kellen Mond. Mike Zimmer sure didn’t.
Overall, the feasibility of Cousins-to-Cleveland skyrocketed when the Vikings hired Adofo-Mensah.
Mike Tomlin doesn’t coach losing seasons. Kirk Cousins never leads teams to seasons too grim in the loss column. Together, these factions can marry for gridiron bliss.
The idea is that Pittsburgh doesn’t invest in rebuilds — that’s how they constantly, relentlessly stay relevant — so a quarterback who can win now with the right pieces around him is the meal ticket. Too, in the perception of many fans, that’s precisely what Cousins needs — a team with a study defense, some playmakers, and his 4,000+ passing yards and 30+ touchdown passes will take care of the rest.
There is zero chance Pittsburgh would take a step back from decrepit Roethlisberger (who retired this week) to Cousins. The Steelers are so high on this list because they really, really need a quarterback. A dude who flings the ball all over the place like Cousins would nicely complement the Steelers post-Roethlisberger era.
Should Denver strike out on the theoretical Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, or Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, a new Broncos skipper could probably win with a man possessing Cousins’ ability to religiously produce 4,000-yard passing yard seasons and 30+ touchdowns. Most teams can.
Denver has been wholly deprived of consistent quarterback play since 2014. Yes, the year before the Super Bowl triumph. Peyton Manning was terrible in 2015, but the Broncos still won the chip. Yet, nobody cares that Manning was terrible.
Cousins is rumored to eventually play for the Broncos almost every offseason. A former Vikings personality in the room like general manager George Paton makes the trade more plausible.
Denver just needs a quality quarterback to stabilize the franchise longer than Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, and Teddy Bridgewater.
Cousins is precisely 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).