Insider revives linking Vikings' Kirk Cousins with 49ers

Pro Football Talk NFL insider Mike Florio revived linking Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins with the San Francisco 49ers. 

"I think you're going to see—unless the Vikings re-sign him by then, and they can't use the franchise tag on him, the way his contract is structured—you're going to see a potential tug of war between (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan and (Los Angeles Rams coach) Sean McVay for Kirk Cousins next March," Florio explained during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone.

After Cousins restructured his contract for salary-cap purposes via an agreement that kept him on track to hit free agency after the 2023 season, Florio initially reported that "there was some chatter" during the scouting combine about Minnesota possibly trading Cousins to San Francisco. Florio later noted that a league source said the two teams discussed 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance potentially joining the Vikings from the 49ers, but ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said earlier this week that "there was no trade market" for Lance. 

Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury he suffered this past September and has attempted just 102 career NFL regular-season passes. 

Cousins, who turns 35-years-old in August, made it known earlier this month he "probably" will wait to speak with the Vikings about his contract situation until next March. It's thought that Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah may know by then they want to go in a different direction at the position. 

As for the 49ers, they're hopeful 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy will be ready for Week 1 following the March 10 surgery he needed to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow but don't know, for sure, how well or how poorly he'll play. Like Schefter and others around the league, Florio indicated that free-agency signing Sam Darnold is above Lance on the depth chart and that the 49ers "really like" Darnold. 

However, Florio also said the 49ers will not trade Lance after they lost three starting signal-callers to injuries from last September through the NFC Championship Game.