Spielman ends Cousins trade “rumors”
Joe Johnson
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If there’s one member of Minnesota Vikings media that has spent the better part of the off-season pouring cold water on the so-called Kirk Cousins trade “rumors” (I use air quotes as these rumors are pure media/fan speculation) it’s been… Well, me.
I’ve posted a bi-weekly series pointing out the myriad of reasons why the Vikings won’t and can’t trade Cousins. You can see some of those here:
But it turns out I could’ve just waited as none other than Vikings general manager Rick Spielman came out this week and in no uncertain terms ended those rumors… I was going to say once and for all but I’m sure people will find a way to explain this away (the word they’ll use rhymes with subterfuge).
Spielman said the following Wednesday, According to ESPN:
“I think Coach Zim put that to bed when he spoke after the season,” Spielman said. “Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. I know there’s a lot of rumors floating around out there, but Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We felt that he played very well, probably the best that he’s ever played down that stretch last year. Kirk is our quarterback going forward, and I look forward to him [having] another year in this system. I’m excited for him and what he’s going to bring to our team next year.”
Well, duh.
Spielman is, after all, on thin ice with the ownership of the Vikings (as is head coach Mike Zimmer) and he knows more than anyone how hard it is to find reliable QB help after bringing in or drafting players like Donovan McNabb, Josh Freeman, Christian Ponder and a JUGS machine with a Tommy Kramer jersey draped over it.
The Vikings have and will have a lot of question marks all over this roster, but they do have some talent worth building around on offense at and around the QB position. Giving up Cousins, especially for some of the above theorized rates of return (a second/fourth/sixth round pick) would destroy the borderline elite offense this team has. If they could finally shore up the offensive line they may be able to offset aaathe loss of core defenders from the 2020 and 2021 off-seasons.
So, let’s focus on that and stop pretending that this team is going to trade a QB who just had a pretty similar season to Russell “career year” Wilson a season after extending him. Shall we?