The Door Opens for Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins left the organization in the 2024 offseason to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings, meanwhile, turned to Sam Darnold shortly thereafter to fill the QB1 spot until a new franchise quarterback was found. J.J. McCarthy was drafted a month later, but he needed a year to take the league by storm in the fourth quarter of his NFL debut.
The Door Opens for Kirk Cousins
Currently, the Vikings are satisfied with their quarterback position, but things haven’t looked nearly as promising for Cousins. His tenure in Atlanta has been quite a disaster. The first half of the 2024 campaign was solid, but he couldn’t stop turning the ball over in the second half, and the Falcons ultimately benched him for rookie Michael Penix Jr.
Drafting Penix Jr. was strange at the time, but in hindsight, it was absolutely the right decision. Cousins is now stuck on the bench despite his annual paycheck of $45 million, and there had not been a way out until now. The San Francisco 49ers suddenly have a quarterback vacancy for a few weeks.
Starter Brock Purdy is set to miss the next 2-5 weeks with a variant of turf toe. If he’s close to reaching the five-week mark, the 49ers could be in real trouble. The backup is Mac Jones, who has shown he can be a capable NFL quarterback, but he might lack the talent to keep the ship afloat. Last year, he went 2-5 in seven starts with the Jaguars and delivered eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan could turn to GM John Lynch and ask him to call the Falcons. He has a history with Cousins and reportedly wanted to lure him to San Francisco nearly a decade ago. Trade rumors appeared annually during Cousins’ time in the Twin Cities.
Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington when Cousins was drafted and reportedly the driving force behind the Cousins selection in the draft, despite already having acquired Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick.
The coach revealed in 2023, “Then we ended up taking Kirk, which I was pumped about because that’s who I wanted originally. Then to be able to get both of them. I know it was a weird situation for Kirk to go into a place where you know you’re not going to have that opportunity, but he just kind of sat there and soaked everything in and learned a lot. It was a fun two years just working with him every day. But, didn’t get to coach him much in games, I think we had three games with him. But he was awesome in the office.”
There was a ton of speculation about a Cousins release or trade throughout the offseason, but nothing came to fruition.
Last month, ESPN’s Marc Raimondi wrote, “Cousins was hoping the Falcons would release him, so he could be a starter somewhere else this season. He even lobbied for it in a phone meeting with owner Arthur Blank. After being absent for most of the voluntary offseason program in the spring, Cousins was back for mandatory minicamp and said that any conversations about him wanting to be elsewhere were in the past and his focus now was on helping the Falcons win.”
Now, some obstacles make a trade unlikely. Cousins has ties with Shanahan and has run comparable offenses in Minnesota, but it would still take some time to get comfortable with the new surroundings, which might lead to San Francisco preferring to go with Jones.
Furthermore, he still carries a massive contract, and the Falcons would have to be willing to pay some of it. Cousins also has a no-trade clause and could just veto any move.
Still, this is the most realistic trade destination Cousins has had in a while. If the 49ers think they have a better chance to keep the season alive with Cousins in the building, there might be some conversations with the Falcons.
For now, expect Cousins to back up Penix Jr. on Sunday, in what will be Cousins’ second homecoming to the Twin Cities. The first one didn’t go well for the veteran passer, as he watched Darnold toss five touchdowns.
Cousins ranks third in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns in Minnesota Vikings franchise history.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.