Quote: @supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
JFC, get off the 13 game win kick. We were the softest team in league history with 13 or even 12 wins. We're also old and have serious salary cap issues and a "good" not "great" qb who we pay bank robbery money for. There are always options out there, and sometimes you need to roll the dice. If you can get decent draft capital for Ponder, you move him. He'll be gone after next year 99.9% for sure and we're not winning a Super Bowl this year anyways.
If you can get decent draft capital for Ponder, you’re a genius & should immediately be named the new GM…!!!  B)
Quote: @Kentis said:
If you can get decent draft capital for Ponder, you’re a genius & should immediately be named the new GM…!!! B)
Ponder and a 7th for Lance, who says no? :p
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
There have been dozens of QB trades in history, but every one happened because the QB was disgruntled and refused to play for his current team, the team collapsed and wanted to rebuild, or the team trading the QB had another QB ready to take his place.
Montana to the Chiefs only because of Steve Young. Carson Palmer to the Raiders because Andy Dalton. Bradford to the Vikings because Wentz, Alex Smith to Washington because Mahomes. Bledsoe to the Bills because Brady. Jay Cutler to the Bears only because of a feud between him and McDaniel. And they got Kyle Orton back, who had started 31 games and actually had a winning record. In other words, an acceptable bridge QB…until they could draft their next bust (Tebow, Osweiller, Lynch...wow).
In fact, going back 60 years of QB trades, I can only find two that are even remotely similar to what this would be.
1. Miami trading Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in 2019. Tannehill was a former 1st rounder, but up to this point, had been a moderate bust, missing several games and all of 2017 due to injury. What’s more, the Dolphins were a losing team over this time, not a 13-win team. But even then, in order to remain competitive, they brought in proven veteran bridge, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to play the 2019 season..until they drafted their QBOTF a year later.
2. Two years ago the Lions, who had double digit losses 4 straight seasons, traded Matt Stafford to the Rams. However, the Lions got back Jared Goff, who had been to two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl.
Trey Lance hasn’t even proven he can play in the NFL yet. Nor have any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Draft a QBOTF to sit behind Cousins? All for it. But forget trading Kirk Cousins for draft picks…or Lance. It won’t happen. Unless Kwesi has lost his fucking mind. Find a bridge and we can at least talk.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
There have been dozens of QB trades in history, but every one happened because the QB was disgruntled and refused to play for his current team, the team collapsed and wanted to rebuild, or the team trading the QB had another QB ready to take his place.
Montana to the Chiefs only because of Steve Young. Carson Palmer to the Raiders because Andy Dalton. Bradford to the Vikings because Wentz, Alex Smith to Washington because Mahomes. Bledsoe to the Bills because Brady. Jay Cutler to the Bears only because of a feud between him and McDaniel. And they got Kyle Orton back, who had started 31 games and actually had a winning record. In other words, an acceptable bridge QB…until they could draft their next bust (Tebow, Osweiller, Lynch...wow).
In fact, going back 60 years of QB trades, I can only find two that are even remotely similar to what this would be.
1. Miami trading Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in 2019. Tannehill was a former 1st rounder, but up to this point, had been a moderate bust, missing several games and all of 2017 due to injury. What’s more, the Dolphins were a losing team over this time, not a 13-win team. But even then, in order to remain competitive, they brought in proven veteran bridge, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to play the 2019 season..until they drafted their QBOTF a year later.
2. Two years ago the Lions, who had double digit losses 4 straight seasons, traded Matt Stafford to the Rams. However, the Lions got back Jared Goff, who had been to two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl.
Trey Lance hasn’t even proven he can play in the NFL yet. Nor have any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Draft a QBOTF to sit behind Cousins? All for it. But forget trading Kirk Cousins for draft picks…or Lance. It won’t happen. Unless Kwesi has lost his fucking mind. Find a bridge and we can at least talk.
I get it, but the team is clearly keeping options open and one of those options COULD be Lance + draft picks for Cousins. There has certainly been some smoke. If the Vikings thought Cousins was great and could take them to where they wanted to go, he'd already be signed on an extension. The fact that he's not obviously tells us all options are on the table at this point in acquiring a young, high upside QB.
I'm betting a potential trade was discussed at the Combine, but we didn't entertain it until we saw how the quarterback pool played out in the draft as maybe, for example, we prefer Will Levis to Lance as a prospect and we are holding tight to see if we had a chance to land him first. Trading Kirk on Combine weekend would have been premature, and I doubt anything ultimately happens, but the fact that there was dialogue between the teams would lead you to believe that it could resurface as the draft gets closer or on draft day itself. And if a trade happened the Vikings still could bring in a veteran quarterback if Lance wasn't quite ready or they wanted a vet on the bench to help coach him up. There are options
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
There have been dozens of QB trades in history, but every one happened because the QB was disgruntled and refused to play for his current team, the team collapsed and wanted to rebuild, or the team trading the QB had another QB ready to take his place.
Montana to the Chiefs only because of Steve Young. Carson Palmer to the Raiders because Andy Dalton. Bradford to the Vikings because Wentz, Alex Smith to Washington because Mahomes. Bledsoe to the Bills because Brady. Jay Cutler to the Bears only because of a feud between him and McDaniel. And they got Kyle Orton back, who had started 31 games and actually had a winning record. In other words, an acceptable bridge QB…until they could draft their next bust (Tebow, Osweiller, Lynch...wow).
In fact, going back 60 years of QB trades, I can only find two that are even remotely similar to what this would be.
1. Miami trading Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in 2019. Tannehill was a former 1st rounder, but up to this point, had been a moderate bust, missing several games and all of 2017 due to injury. What’s more, the Dolphins were a losing team over this time, not a 13-win team. But even then, in order to remain competitive, they brought in proven veteran bridge, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to play the 2019 season..until they drafted their QBOTF a year later.
2. Two years ago the Lions, who had double digit losses 4 straight seasons, traded Matt Stafford to the Rams. However, the Lions got back Jared Goff, who had been to two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl.
Trey Lance hasn’t even proven he can play in the NFL yet. Nor have any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Draft a QBOTF to sit behind Cousins? All for it. But forget trading Kirk Cousins for draft picks…or Lance. It won’t happen. Unless Kwesi has lost his fucking mind. Find a bridge and we can at least talk.
I get it, but the team is clearly keeping options open and one of those options COULD be Lance + draft picks for Cousins. There has certainly been some smoke. If the Vikings thought Cousins was great and could take them to where they wanted to go, he'd already be signed on an extension. The fact that he's not obviously tells us all options are on the table at this point in acquiring a young, high upside QB.
I'm betting a potential trade was discussed at the Combine, but we didn't entertain it until we saw how the quarterback pool played out in the draft as maybe, for example, we prefer Will Levis to Lance as a prospect and we are holding tight to see if we had a chance to land him first. Trading Kirk on Combine weekend would have been premature, and I doubt anything ultimately happens, but the fact that there was dialogue between the teams would lead you to believe that it could resurface as the draft gets closer or on draft day itself. And if a trade happened the Vikings still could bring in a veteran quarterback if Lance wasn't quite ready or they wanted a vet on the bench to help coach him up. There are options
This is about the most logical take I have seen regarding Cousins and the Niners. Would still be surprising but this is about the only way I see it possibly happening.
Quote: @supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
There have been dozens of QB trades in history, but every one happened because the QB was disgruntled and refused to play for his current team, the team collapsed and wanted to rebuild, or the team trading the QB had another QB ready to take his place.
Montana to the Chiefs only because of Steve Young. Carson Palmer to the Raiders because Andy Dalton. Bradford to the Vikings because Wentz, Alex Smith to Washington because Mahomes. Bledsoe to the Bills because Brady. Jay Cutler to the Bears only because of a feud between him and McDaniel. And they got Kyle Orton back, who had started 31 games and actually had a winning record. In other words, an acceptable bridge QB…until they could draft their next bust (Tebow, Osweiller, Lynch...wow).
In fact, going back 60 years of QB trades, I can only find two that are even remotely similar to what this would be.
1. Miami trading Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in 2019. Tannehill was a former 1st rounder, but up to this point, had been a moderate bust, missing several games and all of 2017 due to injury. What’s more, the Dolphins were a losing team over this time, not a 13-win team. But even then, in order to remain competitive, they brought in proven veteran bridge, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to play the 2019 season..until they drafted their QBOTF a year later.
2. Two years ago the Lions, who had double digit losses 4 straight seasons, traded Matt Stafford to the Rams. However, the Lions got back Jared Goff, who had been to two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl.
Trey Lance hasn’t even proven he can play in the NFL yet. Nor have any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Draft a QBOTF to sit behind Cousins? All for it. But forget trading Kirk Cousins for draft picks…or Lance. It won’t happen. Unless Kwesi has lost his fucking mind. Find a bridge and we can at least talk.
I get it, but the team is clearly keeping options open and one of those options COULD be Lance + draft picks for Cousins. There has certainly been some smoke. If the Vikings thought Cousins was great and could take them to where they wanted to go, he'd already be signed on an extension. The fact that he's not obviously tells us all options are on the table at this point in acquiring a young, high upside QB.
I'm betting a potential trade was discussed at the Combine, but we didn't entertain it until we saw how the quarterback pool played out in the draft as maybe, for example, we prefer Will Levis to Lance as a prospect and we are holding tight to see if we had a chance to land him first. Trading Kirk on Combine weekend would have been premature, and I doubt anything ultimately happens, but the fact that there was dialogue between the teams would lead you to believe that it could resurface as the draft gets closer or on draft day itself. And if a trade happened the Vikings still could bring in a veteran quarterback if Lance wasn't quite ready or they wanted a vet on the bench to help coach him up. There are options
I don't doubt the teams have been talking. I only doubt it involves Cousins. It makes sense the Vikings might consider Lance a viable option alongside the QBs in this draft class.
But if the 49ers are convinced their road to the Super Bowl is Kirk Cousins at QB, and they're willing to pay big for that, I guess I'd listen. But again, it doesn't work without a bridge. Trey Lance could still be Patrick Mahomes; he could also still be Josh Rosen. No one knows.
And it seems awfully silly for a 13-win team with the NFL's best WR, and a premier TE, and an offensive line, which for the first time in a decade, will return all five starters, to get rid of its 4X Pro Bowl QB and replace him with...a question mark. I mean, really??? Man, if that happens this team is truly cursed.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
@ supafreak84 said:
Was listening to Soloman Wilcots and Bill Polian on NFL Radio this morning and they brought up the Cousins to the 49ers rumor. Polian stated he still believes Shannahan would want a reliable veteran with Purdy being out (maybe all season) and says Cousins to SF would make a ton of sense for both teams as he stated the Vikings would want Lance and to have a QB on their rookie deal still. Polian stated Sam Darnold throws too many interceptions to be a reliable option. Stated the biggest obstacle in making that deal wouldn't be compensation, but getting Cousins salary manageable enough to make the trade work.
Stay tuned, this might not be a dead deal
I don't care who they are, but these guys are morons if they think this makes sense for the Vikings. Sure, put Kirk on the 49ers. They're instant Super Bowl favorites and they throw a sheet over what might have been their biggest mistake.
How does it make sense for the Vikings? I can see the headline now: "13-win team trades its 34-year-old, 4X Pro Bowl QB for complete unknown. Reaction from Justin Jefferson at 11."
If there has been talk, and I'm not saying there has been, it's much more likely about Vikings trading picks for Lance. But I'm betting that this is contingent upon the Vikings finding a QB in the draft. Weird things can happen to your best-laid plans in the draft. I suspect Lance is a backup option.
I think it all depends on how you view the team for this upcoming season on if it would be something that made sense or not. I personally think we take a step back this upcoming season. If you read the tea leaves, it's obvious the preference of Kwesi is to find a high upside QB on a rookie deal and get off the big money they are paying Cousins. I think he knows what Kirk is, understands age is a factor, and if he was really sold on Cousins moving forward he would just come out and say "Kirk is my guy" and already have him signed to an extension. The fact that neither has happened is telling. If they wanted to roll the dice on Lance and it took Kirk to get it done (with additional picks coming our way) then I think he'd do it. I don't expect any of this to happen, but the fact that it keeps being brought up makes it intriguing.
There have been dozens of QB trades in history, but every one happened because the QB was disgruntled and refused to play for his current team, the team collapsed and wanted to rebuild, or the team trading the QB had another QB ready to take his place.
Montana to the Chiefs only because of Steve Young. Carson Palmer to the Raiders because Andy Dalton. Bradford to the Vikings because Wentz, Alex Smith to Washington because Mahomes. Bledsoe to the Bills because Brady. Jay Cutler to the Bears only because of a feud between him and McDaniel. And they got Kyle Orton back, who had started 31 games and actually had a winning record. In other words, an acceptable bridge QB…until they could draft their next bust (Tebow, Osweiller, Lynch...wow).
In fact, going back 60 years of QB trades, I can only find two that are even remotely similar to what this would be.
1. Miami trading Ryan Tannehill to the Titans in 2019. Tannehill was a former 1st rounder, but up to this point, had been a moderate bust, missing several games and all of 2017 due to injury. What’s more, the Dolphins were a losing team over this time, not a 13-win team. But even then, in order to remain competitive, they brought in proven veteran bridge, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to play the 2019 season..until they drafted their QBOTF a year later.
2. Two years ago the Lions, who had double digit losses 4 straight seasons, traded Matt Stafford to the Rams. However, the Lions got back Jared Goff, who had been to two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl.
Trey Lance hasn’t even proven he can play in the NFL yet. Nor have any of the QBs in the 2023 draft. Draft a QBOTF to sit behind Cousins? All for it. But forget trading Kirk Cousins for draft picks…or Lance. It won’t happen. Unless Kwesi has lost his fucking mind. Find a bridge and we can at least talk.
I get it, but the team is clearly keeping options open and one of those options COULD be Lance + draft picks for Cousins. There has certainly been some smoke. If the Vikings thought Cousins was great and could take them to where they wanted to go, he'd already be signed on an extension. The fact that he's not obviously tells us all options are on the table at this point in acquiring a young, high upside QB.
I'm betting a potential trade was discussed at the Combine, but we didn't entertain it until we saw how the quarterback pool played out in the draft as maybe, for example, we prefer Will Levis to Lance as a prospect and we are holding tight to see if we had a chance to land him first. Trading Kirk on Combine weekend would have been premature, and I doubt anything ultimately happens, but the fact that there was dialogue between the teams would lead you to believe that it could resurface as the draft gets closer or on draft day itself. And if a trade happened the Vikings still could bring in a veteran quarterback if Lance wasn't quite ready or they wanted a vet on the bench to help coach him up. There are options
I don't doubt the teams have been talking. I only doubt it involves Cousins. It makes sense the Vikings might consider Lance a viable option alongside the QBs in this draft class.
But if the 49ers are convinced their road to the Super Bowl is Kirk Cousins at QB, and they're willing to pay big for that, I guess I'd listen. But again, it doesn't work without a bridge. Trey Lance could still be Patrick Mahomes; he could also still be Josh Rosen. No one knows.
And it seems awfully silly for a 13-win team with the NFL's best WR, and a premier TE, and an offensive line, which for the first time in a decade, will return all five starters, to get rid of its 4X Pro Bowl QB and replace him with...a question mark. I mean, really??? Man, if that happens this team is truly cursed.
The report was specifically that the 49ers were inquiring about Cousins availability via trade. It doesn't make sense for them to move Lance for draft picks and not get Cousins in return. Great for the Vikings if they could make a trade for Lance and let him sit behind Cousins for a year, but that doesn't do anything for San Francisco who would be left with Sam Darnold as their starter with nobody behind him until Purdy returns (IF he returns). I think in any trade between the two teams it would have to involve Cousins and Trey Lance as the center pieces.
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