Mike Florio Floats Strange Vikings Trade Theory
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: the Minnesota Vikings should fire off a trade for — drum roll — Kirk Cousins. That’s the latest theory from Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, a Vikings fan and longtime naysayer of Cousins.
Over at NBC Sports, Mike Florio has a unique Vikings trade theory, connecting the purple team to a familiar name, even if the club doesn’t have the budget to make it happen.
Florio tucked a Cousins trade tidbit inside a recent Vikings-themed article, and with the league’s deadline less than two weeks away to make deals, some took notice.
Mike Florio’s Take? Why Not Kirk Cousins for the Vikings?
Cousins could be on the trade block if a team can swallow his behemoth contract.
Don’t Forget Cousins in Trade Talks, Mike Florio Opines
Beset by quarterback turmoil — Carson Wentz has mostly struggled as a fill-in starter, J.J. McCarthy has been out since Week 2 with a high ankle sprain, and Max Brosmer is an undrafted rookie — Florio mentioned Cousins this week as an option.
“Tuesday’s practice report will shed more light on whether McCarthy, Wentz, or both will be able to play. Then there’s this possibility. With two weeks left until the trade deadline arrives, could the Vikings pull the rip cord on the Kirk Cousins emergency option?” Florio opined.
“While the Falcons possibly have a diminished appetite to trade Cousins now that starter Michael Penix Jr. is day-to-day with a bone bruise, the Vikings presumably would get through Thursday night’s game at the Chargers and the following Sunday’s visit to the Lions before making a final decision in the two remaining days before the time for 2025 trades ends. By November 4, the Falcons could be willing to move Cousins out.”
The Cincinnati Bengals needed a quarterback to bridge the gap of Joe Burrow’s toe injury and picked Joe Flacco via trade, not Cousins. Atlanta’s asking price for Cousins might be rich.
Florio added, “And the Vikings could be willing to move Cousins in. Frankly, a move like that could be the only chance the Vikings have to end their current trend of failing to make the playoffs in back-to-back years. They last qualified for the postseason in consecutive years in 2008 and 2009.”
The idea from Florio probably won’t come to fruition, but it’s the latest in a lengthy list of Cousins trade theories for Minnesota that have existed since he left the team a year and a half ago. Anytime Minnesota has a roadblock at quarterback, someone is quick to say, “Why not Cousins?”
ESPN Is on the Case, Too
Jeremy Fowler at ESPN couldn’t resist, either. He authored an article this week about the league’s Top 25 trade assets, and Cousins to the Vikings got the nod.
“The buzz: Like with Russell Wilson, Cousins would need injuries at the quarterback position to spark a market. He is 37, and he struggled with interceptions last season (16), but Cousins could help a team in a bind. Wilson has a more team-friendly contract than that of Cousins, whose $10 million guarantee in 2026 is a hurdle,” Fowler explained.
“Carson Wentz’s Week 7 struggles with the Vikings make a Cousins reunion in Minneapolis a convenient talking point for fans and media, even with J.J. McCarthy soon returning from an ankle injury. Predicted chance of getting traded: 20%. Team fits: Minnesota Vikings.”
ESPN’s Matt Bowen added, “The tape: At this stage of his career, Cousins is viewed as a No. 2 who fits best in a system with play-action elements. This allows Cousins to throw with rhythm on defined concepts. Cousins has a career play-action QBR of 73.6.”
Vikings Probably Don’t Need Cousins
At the moment, Minnesota has McCarthy, Wentz, and Brosmer at its disposal. Even Desmond Ridder joined the fun for a couple of weeks.
When McCarthy is healthy — all signs point to Week 9, or 11 days from now — the ship will sink or float with him. Wentz has served as a mediocre stopgap, and it’s apparent that Minnesota doesn’t trust Brosmer to start; he would’ve been given a look by now.
Three quarterbacks on the roster is plenty, especially with McCarthy coming back, a player who desperately needs reps for his development.
Finagling a deal for Cousins would directly paddle McCarthy’s maturation in the cheeks of his buttocks.
Vikings Probably Can’t Afford Cousins
Cousins has these cap numbers after 2025:
— Cousins’ Cap Number in 2026: $57.5 million
— Cousins’ Cap Number in 2027: $57.5 million
It is fundamentally and utterly absurd to assume Minnesota can make room for those mammoth totals. The primary reason to end the Cousins experiment was that his production didn’t match the salary and did not yield many playoff victories for the purple team.
The Vikings are already underwater in terms of next year’s salary cap. Finding a way to bring Cousins back feels like the worst scenario imaginable for a cash-strapped team.
It’s actually mind-boggling to think he’s an option when one peeks under the hood at his contract.
Overall, the team didn’t draft McCarthy in 2024 to turn around and trade for Cousins a year and a half later while stomaching $57.5 million cap numbers per year.
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