Kirk Cousins Should Monitor Derek Carr’s Free Agency
Dustin Baker
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The Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr divorced down the stretch of the 2022 regular season, setting the stage for what would turn into Carr’s 2023 free agency.
The Raiders employed Carr for nine seasons as QB1 and fired up a 63-79 (.443) record on his watch while habitually refusing to surround the Fresno State alumnus with a stout defense. From 2014 to 2022, Las Vegas’ defense ranked 32nd in the NFL — dead last — per defensive EPA/Play, so the organization evidently surmises Carr had some culpability, which is bizarre.
Kirk Cousins Should Monitor Derek Carr’s Free Agency
And as Carr embarks on the first free-agent tour of his career — probably the only one — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins should take notes. This could be him soon.
For now, Cousins is under contract with the Vikings through the end of 2023. If the team extends him beyond next season, that deal will likely get done in the next three weeks. Minnesota is tentatively expected to add an extra year or two onto Cousins’ contract as he offers the best chance for the club to win now, and every member of the Vikings leadership has preached all-in stakes once again for 2023.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could, too, draft Cousins’ replacement in April’s draft while that hypothetical player “watches and learns” behind Cousins for one or two seasons. Adofo-Mensah can indeed do both if he’s in the mood. The idea is wise. Ask the Kansas City Chiefs.
But if the Vikings “do nothing” with Cousins’ contract in the next 20 days or so, he’ll be on deck to experience a Carr-like fate at this time next year.
Two weeks ago, before the Raiders released Carr, Las Vegas explored trading the 31-year-old. The asking price for Carr was a bit surprising. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted, “Raiders’ asking price modest. One NFL source said 3rd round pick could get it done.”
So, if the Vikings were to ponder a Cousins trade this offseason — he has a no-trade clause, so it’d be tricky — folks who expect Cousins to fetch a 1st-Rounder or so are misguided or viewing the trade through a strange lens. If a younger-than-Cousins Derek Carr only commands a 3rd-Round pick, the Vikings would fetch something similar for Cousins.
On the other hand, if Cousins walks next March, he’ll likely have substantial interest, like Carr, via free agency. NFL analyst Dov Kleiman tweeted Monday about Carr and the New York Jets, “The Jets’ really believe’ that former Raiders QB Derek Carr is the type of quarterback that can lead them to a championship, per Jeff Darlington and GetUp ESPN. Carr’s meeting with New York was ‘very positive and went well.’ They feel like he’s a ‘great player.'”
Carr also met with the New Orleans Saints before the Jets meeting. And still to be determined, Carr could meet with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Houston Texans. The possibilities are palpable.
Cousins is three years older than Carr, but depending on his 2023 performance in Minnesota — Cousins tosses 4,000+ passing yards and 30+ touchdown passes per season like clockwork — he’ll draw similar free-agent interest to Carr. Hell, he almost signed with those same Jets in 2018 before deciding on the Vikings.
The Vikings will likely commit to Cousins for at least one more year — maybe two — but in the meantime, he should side-eye Carr’s adventure because it may happen to him.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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