PFF Argues Vikings Could Get Significant Draft Capital in Kirk Cousins Trade

Nov 14, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) fumbles the ball as he is hot by Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa (97) in the first quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Cousins never fails to cause debate. Kirk Cousins never fails to generate content ideas. Such is the life of Minnesota’s QB1. The most recent example comes from Brad Spielberger of PFF, who suggests that the Vikings could trade Kirk Cousins to the Steelers in exchange for a 1st and 2nd round pick.

Here is the rationale:

This may seem a bit crazy, given that Cousins is PFF’s fourth-highest-graded passer (86.1), but if Minnesota ownership elects to move on from head coach Mike Zimmer and start over, trading Cousins is the quickest means to turn things around in a hurry. A decision must be made this offseason one way or the other because Cousins is entering the final year of his contract, which carries a fully guaranteed $35 million salary. After receiving two franchise tags with the Washington Football Team, Cousins has effectively become untaggable for the remainder of his career.



He continues:

The question with Cousins is not whether he’s a proficient signal-caller, but whether he’s good enough to win with a roster that has to work around the fact he accounts for 15%-20% of the salary cap in a given year. Mond is undoubtedly not the player Cousins is right now, but his 2022 cap hit is roughly 2.6% of the veteran’s 2022 cap hit of $45 million. One way to look at this: Is Kirk Cousins 38 times better than Kellen Mond? 

For this price, the Vikings would likely be tempted to make the move. A first and a second – along with $35 million more to spend – is significant. Keep in mind, though, that all of this is just potential. In theory, a team can bring in legit talent with those two picks and all that money. It means very little, though, if neither pick materializes. Moreover, spending money of poor performance (see Breeland, Bashaud) does very little for a team’s chances.

So, it’s an intriguing idea, one that is more plausible if the team does indeed change directions by moving on from Mike Zimmer. We’ll need to see how the season ends and what decisions are made before we’ll get any clarity on what may occur with all the Kirk Cousins trade rumors.

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