Here’s Why One Vikings QB Rumor Just Doesn’t Make Sense
Minnesota Vikings fans await final judgment on Kirk Cousins, a decision that should be learned sometime next week — probably Monday. And because Cousins’ departure seems imminent, one Vikings QB rumor grew legs in the last few weeks.
Here’s Why One Vikings QB Rumor Just Doesn’t Make Sense
That’s Justin Fields and the possibility that Minnesota could barter with the Chicago Bears for his services. While Fields will probably play for a new team in 2024 — all signs point to Chicago drafting USC’s Caleb Williams in April — the Vikings making a deal for the young passer just doesn’t add up.
Foremost, ESPN connected the Vikings to Fields trade rumor mill last weekend.
Jeremy Fowler wrote Sunday, “The major quarterback domino that many are waiting to fall is Chicago’s Justin Fields decision. Chicago has not played its hand, and several league sources believe Fields — who has not requested a trade — could probably garner a Day 2 pick in a potential deal. There’s no firm deadline on a trade, though the start of free agency is sort of a soft one. Chicago will need multiple teams in the fray to drive a market, and after asking around, I expect Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas and Minnesota to be on the radar.”
Why is Fields in Minnesota unlikely to materialize? Well, a couple of reasons. The first is the most telling. Fields can certainly mature and develop in Year No. 4 and beyond, but to date, he’s one of the NFL’s most inaccurate passers, at least among starters and quarterbacks considered on the upturn. Accuracy is one of the keynote traits sought in a quarterback by Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
He told Pro Football Talk two years ago, “I really do believe having attempted to play quarterback in this league myself and not ultimately achieving that goal because of the fact I wasn’t accurate enough as a quarterback. I think the number one for me now that I look at veteran quarterbacks, rookie quarterbacks, I evaluate them throughout any process is they need to be naturally accurate.”
If O’Connell covets a naturally accurate quarterback, Fields emphatically isn’t the guy.
Moreover, assuming the accuracy theory is tossed out the window, and Minnesota indeed wants a piece of Fields, it would have to get over the NFC North rival hurdle. The Bears may be content moving on from Fields in favor of the aforementioned Williams, but they won’t want to see Fields twice annually, with the risk of him blossoming in their backyard. NFC North teams rarely do business via trade, even if Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is more open to the idea than most.
In the end, the Bears will likely trade Fields to the AFC or a non-NFC-North NFC team.
If Cousins walks, Minnesota is expected to draft a quarterback of the future — not take a flyer on an inaccurate passer from its own division.
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.
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