NFL insider still thinks Vikings should trade for Kirk Cousins

Honestly, I thought we were done with this. A long offseason of QB speculation in Minnesota — centered around guys like Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and Kirk Cousins — seemed to be put to bed when the Vikings essentially announced J.J. McCarthy as their guy and then traded for Sam Howell to be his backup.

But here we are. In a new ESPN piece where various writers proposed trades for some of the NFL's biggest names who could still be moved, insider Dan Graziano and analytics writer Seth Walder went back to the Cousins-returns-to-Minnesota idea.

Graziano's proposal is the Vikings sending a 2026 fifth-round pick, a 2027 seventh-rounder, and cash considerations to the Falcons for Cousins.

"Why this deal makes sense for both sides: Well, it makes sense for all three sides, really, counting Cousins himself. He wants a chance to start and could use his no-trade clause to nix a deal to any place he doesn't want to go. But if he has to be a backup, we know he liked living in Minnesota and playing for the Vikings. Plus, J.J. McCarthy is still an unknown after his major knee injury, so maybe this could turn into more than just a QB2 destination. In this scenario, the Vikings would agree to pay $10 million of the guaranteed money on Cousins' contract for 2025."

I don't know if I agree that it makes sense for the Vikings. They'd be giving up multiple draft picks and taking on a decent chunk of salary to bring in Cousins, who clearly wants to be a starting quarterback this year. That could create a bit of drama and maybe cause McCarthy to be looking over his shoulder. Yes, Cousins is better than Howell, but the Vikings appear to be set to ride or die with McCarthy this year. They don't seem to think he's as much of an "unknown" as the public does, even if he has yet to play his first regular season game.

Walder's proposal sees the Vikings send Howell and cash considerations for Cousins.

"Why this deal makes sense for both sides: The key to the compensation for a Cousins deal is how much of his guaranteed money the acquiring team will take on. I'll raise Dan's offer and say the Vikings pay $12 million of it. This would allow Atlanta to save a little face and get out of the situation with a different backup quarterback. For Minnesota, the upgrade at backup QB is more important because of the McCarthy situation. Cousins will have to accept a lesser role with his old team, but at least he'd be reunited with coach Kevin O'Connell."

This one might make a bit more sense because the Vikings get to hold onto their draft picks and not end up with five quarterbacks. But I still don't know if I like it. They'd be immediately punting on Howell, who they parted with some draft capital to acquire. Again, he isn't as good as Cousins, but he's also 12 years younger and could be a quality backup for a while if O'Connell can coach him up a bit. They'd also be eating a bunch of money to bring Cousins back into the mix, and I already mentioned how that could theoretically make for an unwanted dynamic.

I'd be quite surprised if it happens. And ESPN agrees. Here's the "verdict" section of their article, which follows the four trade proposals:

"All of these are compelling for the Falcons. But for Cousins, both offers from the Vikings are dead on arrival. He wants to start, and he more than likely won't do that in Minnesota. Even if he loved living there, this would be basically the same situation as Atlanta (being behind McCarthy instead of Penix). Using his no-trade clause, Cousins would likely nix the Vikings."

Cleveland or Pittsburgh, the other two destinations proposed in the ESPN piece, make a lot more sense for Cousins. It'll be very interesting to see if he ends up getting dealt to a place where he has a chance to start, or if he has to stick out the year as the backup in Atlanta.

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