Insider shares interesting trade scenario for Vikings' Kirk Cousins

NBC Sports' Peter King suggested there's one scenario where Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins may waive his no-trade clause to join a contender ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline. 

For the latest edition of his "Football Morning in America" column, King acknowledged he thinks it's "unlikely" Cousins will be traded before the deadline. King also noted that Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel could "want to roll the dice with Cousins for the rest of the year" if Miami starter Tua Tagovailoa goes down with an injury at some point over the next two weeks. 

While Cousins is in the final year of his contract that includes a full no-trade clause, Tagovailoa has guided the Dolphins to a 5-1 record but also has a concerning injury history that includes the 25-year-old suffering at least two concussions last season. Per ESPN stats, Tagovailoa ended the weekend leading the NFL among qualified players with a 114.1 passer rating, 1,876 passing yards and an average of 9.5 yards per pass attempt on the campaign. Interestingly, Tagovailoa and Cousins began Monday sharing the league lead with 14 touchdown passes. 

Cousins neither confirmed nor denied before the Vikings improved to 2-4 via Sunday's 19-13 win at the Chicago Bears that he would waive his no-trade clause to play for what's thought to be a championship-caliber club through the second half of the season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that "Cousins is expected to remain in Minnesota this season and will not look to waive the no-trade clause in his contract." However, Schefter added that "a contending team with a familiar offense losing its starting quarterback before the NFL's Oct. 31 trade deadline" could cause Cousins to change his mind. 

This past offseason, Cousins was repeatedly linked in stories and rumors with the San Francisco 49ers, in part because he once had 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan as an offensive coordinator in Washington. King wrote for Monday's piece that he thinks Shanahan would go with free-agency signing Sam Darnold if San Francisco starter Brock Purdy became unavailable before October ends.