I think you’re probably right about Cousins. It would take a pretty wild set of circumstances to see something done this year.VikingLord wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 4:36 pmInteresting, but I'd be curious to read what Stump has to say about what the stats say about Lance since he's entered the NFL. He played sparingly in college (I think he had one complete season with 2 other seasons significantly impacted by injury) and he's continued that tradition as a pro. I also don't think he's shown anything special as a pro. He is younger than Cousins and was a first round draft pick, but beyond that I don't think he's shown very much at all to indicate even a straight up swap would make sense for either team. The article talks about the Vikings trading Cousins to a team where Cousins knows he wouldn't be the starter and the 49ers would have to pick up a huge contract for what would amount to a backup for them. The Vikings could try to swing a trade that doesn't involve Cousins, but the 49ers would likely demand a 1st round pick at a minimum and based on Lance's performances so far, that would be almost as bad as giving up what the 49ers gave up to draft him in the first place, especially with the other needs on the team. So the Vikings would then also pick up a more "reasonable" $34.1 million contract for Lance on top of the less "reasonable" contract they're already carrying for Cousins himself.Cliff wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 2:41 pm Thought this was interesting.
Vikings Trade Proposal Brings $34.1 Million QB to Minnesota
If the Vikings made this move they'd have to trade Cousins somewhere else and get back some draft capital for it to make any sense at all, and that assumes Lance can develop and won't remain so injury prone as he's been most of his career to this point.
It will be interesting to see how the Cousins situation plays out and what moves, if any, the Vikings make at that position this offseason. I suspect this won't be the year for a move at QB unless someone offered the Vikings a killer deal for Cousins and he agreed. The no-trade clause coupled with the guaranteed money pretty much rules that out in my view. I think Cousins will play out his deal this year and the Vikings will make a move at the QB position next offseason.
Not hating on Kirk, but I still wish it could happen. I’m just tired of the merry-go-round. I love what Kwesi has been doing this offseason, the way he’s been (finally) starting to clear the books for future years. But that’s also why the Cousins restructure has me baffled. They obviously want to move on from him, even after a 13-win season, but restructuring makes his dead cap hit next year $30 million plus. I suppose with the cap projected to be $256 million next year the Vikings feel like they can afford it. But it also means we play 2023 with a lame-duck QB and 2024 with god knows who. To his credit, Cousins is unlikely to be anything but a professional this year and will work and prepare just as hard. It still sucks to know you’re starting a lame duck. The Chiefs did it in 2017 with Alex Smith, but they had already identified and drafted their next quarterback. They also did what was necessary to move up and get him. The Vikings are in no position to do that … even if they were, who are we talking? Will Levis? Yikes.
It almost feels like the competitive-rebuild Vikings are really playing for 2025. Unless they fool us all and pull a deal for Lamar Jackson … and I’m not even sure whether that would make the Vikings actual Super Bowl contenders.