Kirk Cousins
Because the New York Jets 2023 season is suddenly going nowhere, and because the Minnesota Vikings finally won a game, Kirk Cousins trade rumors quieted for a few days.
For the most part.
Some fringe theorists still believe the Vikings QB1 could be traded before the NFL’s Halloween deadline, though, and this time, the proposals don’t involve the Jets.
This go-round, it’s the New England Patriots that piqued national interest, mainly from Bleacher Report. The Patriots own a 1-3 record — sound familiar? — and may not be in love with young passer Mac Jones for the long haul. That’s the working theory, anyway.
BR”s Ryan Fowler outlined six shocking trades this week, and Cousins-to-Patriots made the cut. The pricetag? A 2nd-Round + 4th-Round pick to Minnesota for the 35-year-old Cousins,
“With the most cap space available of any team in 2024, the Patriots have the finances to give Kirk Cousins an extension to be their starting quarterback for several years. Mac Jones doesn’t look to be the answer right now for head coach Bill Belichick, and losing simply doesn’t exist in the DNA of the future Hall of Famer,” Fowler explained about a hypothetical Cousins shipment to Foxboro.
The Patriots also swung a trade for Los Angeles Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson in real-life Wednesday, a reunion deal for a defender with a fat contract.
Fowler continued, “With a similar skill set to that of Jones — both make their money inside of structure —Cousins’ transition period could be seamless within Bill O’Brien’s offense. The Vikings drafted former BYU signal-caller Jaren Hall on Day 3 this spring. He isn’t Cousins, but trading Cousins would free up money and allow him to showcase if he could be the guy moving forward.”
Minnesota shifting to Jaren Hall at any point in the 2023 season would suggest the team was undeniably “mailing it in,” and perhaps tanking for the Caleb Williams sweepstakes.
Fowler concluded about the Hall-as-QB1 idea, “If he isn’t, Minnesota would have New England’s second-rounder (and its own first-round pick) to potentially grab a quarterback in the position-rich 2024 draft.”
Cousins has a no-trade clause, the major hiccup for any trade postulation. The man is known for meticulous and methodical study of the playbook, so it is unclear if he’d waive the clause to start fresh elsewhere in the middle of a season.
However, for the Vikings-should-tank crowd, this is the strategy, and most believe Cousins would fetch a 1st-Rounder via trade if one happened in the next four weeks.
The Vikings host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.