It Seems One Kirk Cousins Rumor Can Officially Be Laid to Rest
Assuming Kirk Cousins officially hits the open market on March 13th, he will inevitably be a hot commodity in NFL free agency.
The veteran QB is coming off a 2023 season that was derailed by an Achilles tear, but prior to that injury, he was playing some incredible football, throwing for 2331 yards and 18 TDs over eight games. This put him on pace for nearly 5000 yards and about 38 TDs. Each of these totals would have been career highs had he been able to finish the season on that pace.
For years, Cousins has been connected to the San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan, who served as his offensive coordinator during his early career in Washington. However, any rumors of Cousins potentially heading to San Francisco this offseason may need to be put to rest for good after Shanahan’s comments earlier this week.
One Kirk Cousins Rumor Can Be Laid to Rest
Over the past few years, there have been plenty of questions surrounding the 49ers’ quarterback position. They went through some injury-riddled seasons with Jimmy Garoppolo, failed to turn 2021’s third overall pick, Trey Lance, into a franchise player, and have been been utilizing Brock Purdy as their starter after selecting him with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
These tumultuous times in San Francisco have made the 49ers a popular landing spot for Cousins in trade, and more recently, free agency rumors. Shanahan said in 2021 about Cousins, “I got to coach him for three games. And then, we were fired. I left. I thought we’d have a chance to get him [in San Francisco] in free agency, and I would have loved to have him in free agency until Jimmy came along the year before. Because I thought we could have won with him, just like Minnesota has.”
Despite Shanahan’s admiration for Cousins over the years, the head coach and the 49ers organization may officially be content with where they find themselves at the position, though. Shanahan told NBC Sports this week, “It’s a nice feeling, I know that — having stability at that position […] Now, it’s like kind of building around Purdy.”
This is for good reason. The 49ers have found great success with Purdy over the past couple seasons. With the Iowa State product as their starter, San Francisco has gone 17-4 in the regular season, and they made a Super Bowl appearance this season after qualifying for the NFC Championship Game during Purdy’s rookie year.
Over 25 regular season appearances, Purdy has amassed 5654 yards, 44 TDs, and just 15 interceptions while completing 68.7% of his passes. In six playoff games, the young QB has shined brightest, throwing for 1343 yards, six touchdowns, and just a single interception.
Of course, it would have been very interesting to see what Cousins could accomplish in San Francisco’s offense. They have a star-studded lineup including the likes of Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel, which has inevitably helped Purdy’s progression over the past two years.
Still, though, it makes infinitely more sense for the 49ers to continue riding with Purdy. Cousins could command a major contract in free agency while Purdy’s rookie seventh-round contract has him slated for cap hits of $1,000,252 in 2024 and $1,119,252 in 2025, per Spotrac.
These cap hits currently rank 54th and 39th over the next two seasons, respectively. To boot, Purdy turned 24 years old in December, indicating that he should only be getting better over the next few years.
Cousins could leave the Vikings this offseason, but don’t expect his destination to be the 49ers if that happens.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Spotrac.
4 Winners from Day 2 of the NFL Combine
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.