Linking the dots on a Kirk Cousins deal to the San Francisco 49ers and a reunion with Kyle Shanahan is one of the easiest scenarios to put together for those who would like to sit in on such speculations this time of year. Actually, the rumors have been there for a while. It would assume that the Niners were obviously looking for someone to replace Jimmy Garoppolo.
It also assumes that the Minnesota Vikings are at all interested in moving on from Cousins.
The suspicion over this juicy corner gained considerable steam when it was widely reported that the Niners were one of the teams interested in acquiring Matthew Stafford. There were even some reports that the 49ers were close to concluding a deal. Alas, Stafford are on their way to the Los Angeles Rams, now in the first of NFL outdoor affairs that may be out of season
As Luke Braun brilliantly remarked on Monday, the Rams essentially had to pick a first round to get Stafford and include another first and third round for the Detroit Lions to take Jared Goff and his solid contract out of their hands. And when you consider that the selection of the first round is postponed until 2022 and 2023, plus the fact that the Rams have to be a pretty good team for the next few years, the first ones look more like second rounds.
Nevertheless, the Stafford trade helped establish the trade value for many good – though not elite – NFL quarterbacks. This is the same bucket where reasonable minds can agree to place Cousins. Some of his stats indicate he was better than just ‘really good’, but his inability to carry a team in higher backs suggests that the stats can be misleading to some extent. What? Misleading statistics? Never!
What is important is that the Stafford trade also confirms the idea that San Francisco is in fact looking for a new quarter. New reporting and speculation on this front continued this week – and once again linked Cousins to the Niners.
An example:
The plot thickens, friends.
The easy thing for the Vikings to do this season out of season, as I have noted before, is to respond to the healthy return of their injured defensive stars, addressing some issues about special teams through a free agency and add a few pieces in the draft. . Of course, some players may be released or restructured for salary-limiting purposes, but a conservative off-season generally seems the most likely way forward.
Very easy. Back in the playoffs.
If the Vikings were to tear it all down and start rebuilding, the clues would already be clear – starting with a new head coach. Mike Zimmer is still captain of the ship and he is not keen on a rebuild. There is no appetite in the Vikings’ headquarters for a refurbishment, and they are unable to make a splash in free agencies, given their salary branch. There are people who will try to convince you that the salary cap is a canard, and that there is always a solution. This may be true to some extent. On the other hand, there are a bunch of other teams that do not need any cap gymnastics to throw money at free agents during the off-season, which gives them a definite advantage over cash-strapped teams like the Vikings.
However, a boring and relatively quiet out of season is not the only way forward. This is probably the plan A. of Rick Spielman. But plan B or C may come into play now that a market for Cousins has been established.
Let’s not forget, the new general manager of the Denver Broncos is George Paton, who was stripped of the Vikings’ front office last month. Reportedly, the Broncos were also in the Stafford trading hours, so a quarter-quarter upgrade is also in store for them. These dots are just as simple to connect as the Cousins-to-the-49ers scenario. Spielman and Paton are friends and can conclude an agreement relatively short if both parties are willing.
Could there be a bidding war for Cousins?
That would change everything. Screw the plan “sow out of season”. If you’m a Spielman and have one or two teams looking for a quarterback like Cousins, you should at least entertain the idea of whether or not you even considered moving on from him. In both scenarios, San Francisco or Denver, Spielman can pick up some concepts. And we all know how much Rick likes choices. Furthermore, the Vikings were able to free themselves from being hampered by Cousins’ large, though market value, contract.
This, of course, would be just one of the big dominoes. More would be needed if Cousins were traded. Would Handsome Jimmy G become the Vikings’ bridge quarterback for a rookie – someone who might enable them to move a newly acquired draft capital to move and acquire in the first round?
Or could the delicious, creamy nougat become a tasty treat in the middle of the Vikings’ season, bringing Deshaun Watson to Minnesota?
Suffice it to say: if Spielman moves on from what I consider to be a conservative plan A for the off-season versus one in which Cousins moves, it will be a little less “boring” at Vikings headquarters. It would indeed be the opposite.
Let’s now issue a Trade Watch, not a trade alert. The terms of a Cousins deal are more favorable than they were a few weeks ago. To be safe, Vikings fans need to make sure their backrests and tray tables are upright and that their seat belts are securely shaped. Things can (keyword: can) rise rapidly.