Nov 18, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports.
Within the next seven weeks, Minnesota Vikings fans will learn if the franchise starts fresh at quarterback with a selection from the 2024 NFL Draft, re-signs Kirk Cousins for a year or two, or both.
Cousins is scheduled to hit free agent in mid-March, but he and the Vikings leadership have hinted for months that they’d like to prolong the relationship at the right price.
The rubber hits the road soon regarding Cousins’ status, so cue AC/DC’s Moneytalks. If Cousins leaves, though, the betting odds for his services, at least in late January, are a little kooky. Why? Well, the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders are listed as viable suitors.
Foremost, here are the odds for Cousins’ next team:
The Falcons totally check out. Bill Belichick may become the head coach in Atlanta before too long, and he might want a productive quarterback out of the gate. Cousins is a productive quarterback. New England makes sense, too, as the Patriots have several roster holes to fill, and perhaps trading down from No. 3 in April’s draft could address such needs. Cousins won’t cost draft capital, only money. To round out the list, Pittsburgh would add up, as well. The Steelers proved they could reach the postseason in 2023 with Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback — imagine what they could do with Cousins. The sky would be the limit.
On the other hand, Denver and Las Vegas just don’t make sense. The Broncos — probably the most egregiously dumb example — don’t seem wise because of the finances. At the moment, Denver is on the hook for $85 million in dead cap with Wilson. The best case scenario for divorce would be trading Wilson after June 1st, handing the contract to some other team to absorb, and the Broncos would eat $18.4 million. But which team would willingly eat Wilson’s dead cap as a favor to Denver?
In that vein, figuring out a solution on Wilson’s meaty contact and also signing Cousins for $35-$45 million just doesn’t make sense. If the Broncos want to be done with Wilson, they’ll probably have to draft a rookie quarterback or find an unbelievably cheap alternative — like Jarrett Stidham — to offset the Wilson monetary heartburn. Cousins won’t join the Broncos for five million bucks.
Meanwhile, the Raiders on the betting odds list is also bizarre. Would a team overdue for change, on a quest to Just Win Baby, really sign Cousins after a decade with Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo? Flipping from Carr to Garoppolo to Cousins would cause Raiders fans to post the Spider-man meme all over the internet as if they didn’t do that enough when Las Vegas signed Garoppolo last year.
The Vikings, Falcons, Patriots, and Steelers make sense for Cousins’ next chapter. Denver and Las Vegas do not.
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.