Cousins Trade Rumors

[S197]

My worry is they extend Cousins again and the next regime will need to deal with the consequences.

I’ve brought this up, as well. That would be truly tragic.

I certainly hope the Wilfs put the kibosh on all this kicking the can down the road. Offering extensions to guys whose contracts outlive the player’s usefulness is like taking out a new credit card to pay off an old one that’s maxed out. It’s caught up with the Vikings, and it has to stop.

Hopefully they’re looking at what’s happening down in New Orleans and will use that as a case study in what not to do.

[fiestavike]

SF, DEN, NYJ, PHI, HOU...Who wants Kirk? Come and get him.

He's not a guy other guys are going to follow. I'd love to get off the Kirk Cousins train.

[RandyMoss84]

SF, DEN, NYJ, PHI, HOU...Who wants Kirk? Come and get him.

He's not a guy other guys are going to follow. I'd love to get off the Kirk Cousins train.

Kirk is not going to get traded, Zimmer just said that Kirk is our guy

[CharVike]

QB isn't on the priority list. Like all positions, if Spielman can improve QB at reasonable cost, he absolutely should, but going to the well to improve a position that isn't a liability would be a fool's errand and should spell the end of Spielman's tenure as GM.

If Spielman can address the priorities I listed above this offseason, there is a very good chance the Vikings, with Kirk Cousins at QB, will be in the Superbowl conversation by the time the playoffs roll around next year.

It should be.

There are two things the teams that consistently compete for a SB have: A great QB and a great team to put around him. With Cousins and his massive contract, we won't have either.

First off every team competes for the Super Bowl. You act like some teams have the formula and get to the Super Bowl every year. The NFL is a parity league. Take our conference the NFC there isn't any team that has dominated over the last 10 years. The Seahawks, thanks to the legion of boom, did it twice and the 49ers have done it twice. The Saints with a HOF QB are playoff fodder and haven't made it the last 10 years. The Packers again with a HOF QB have made it once in 10 years. The Seahawks broke up the legion and are now playoff fodder also. The 49ers cant even make the playoffs. They are 29–35 (.453) under there current head coach. They have a high CAP great QB, They put it together one season. Now the RAMS have the great QB Stafford. That's your formula they should be in. Very few experts predicted the Bucs in the Super Bowl. Couldn't play 500 ball. Didn't compete. That team isn't great. HOF QB helped who also has a massive contract whatever that means. Many feel every GM should get a HOF QB for nothing and then build a decent defense and the Super Bowl is a given. There's not many HOF QBs out there. Bill Belicheck used the Patriot way and signed a former MVP QB for nothing and couldn't even make the playoffs. Didn't even compete. Some here feel Case Keenum was the way to go. Keenum isn't worth a pack of gum. Can't get a starting job in a league that needs starters. If we cut Cousins he would be picked up very quickly. Some act like he would be out of football. We need a HOF QB, they don't grow on trees, or a D that is playing like the Bucs D is now and apply big time heat on the QBs. Having a HOF QB would help also but I don't see one in FA.

[dkoby]

Even Mahommes can’t win with a crap line. I guess a QB still needs other players.

With the cap Decline next year, I think the GM might have done us a favor by bringing in a bunch of young cheap talent last year.
Teams are going to be crapping their pants looking at the balance sheet if the cap declines by 25 mill, which I keep hearing.

I say we trade up this year if we have to get a QB prospect and let him percolate under Cousins for a year. Then let Cousins walk. I believe there is no hit after next year.

Interesting that the Bucs defense is the story of this super bowl, beating the kid wonder QB.

[S197]

There’s a 45 million hit after next year.

[J. Kapp 11]

It should be.

There are two things the teams that consistently compete for a SB have: A great QB and a great team to put around him. With Cousins and his massive contract, we won't have either.

First off every team competes for the Super Bowl. You act like some teams have the formula and get to the Super Bowl every year. The NFL is a parity league. Take our conference the NFC there isn't any team that has dominated over the last 10 years. The Seahawks, thanks to the legion of boom, did it twice and the 49ers have done it twice. The Saints with a HOF QB are playoff fodder and haven't made it the last 10 years. The Packers again with a HOF QB have made it once in 10 years. The Seahawks broke up the legion and are now playoff fodder also. The 49ers cant even make the playoffs. They are 29–35 (.453) under there current head coach. They have a high CAP great QB, They put it together one season. Now the RAMS have the great QB Stafford. That's your formula they should be in. Very few experts predicted the Bucs in the Super Bowl. Couldn't play 500 ball. Didn't compete. That team isn't great. HOF QB helped who also has a massive contract whatever that means. Many feel every GM should get a HOF QB for nothing and then build a decent defense and the Super Bowl is a given. There's not many HOF QBs out there. Bill Belicheck used the Patriot way and signed a former MVP QB for nothing and couldn't even make the playoffs. Didn't even compete. Some here feel Case Keenum was the way to go. Keenum isn't worth a pack of gum. Can't get a starting job in a league that needs starters. If we cut Cousins he would be picked up very quickly. Some act like he would be out of football. We need a HOF QB, they don't grow on trees, or a D that is playing like the Bucs D is now and apply big time heat on the QBs. Having a HOF QB would help also but I don't see one in FA.

Maybe that's because some teams DO have a formula. Namely, they win consistently and actually make the playoffs regularly. You can't win the SB without making the playoffs. It's about CONSISTENTLY WINNING each and every season.

If you look the teams that have won at least 9 games for the most consecutive seasons, do you know who the leaders are?
Seattle -- 9 straight years
Chiefs -- 8
Titans -- 5
Saints, Rams, Ravens -- 4

Three of the top six teams in consecutive 9+ win seasons are NFC teams.

For the 10 years 2010-2019, here are the leaders in total wins.
New England -- 125
Green Bay -- 102
Pittsburgh -- 102
Seattle -- 100
New Orleans -- 100
Baltimore -- 98
Kansas City -- 96

All but one of those teams appeared in at least 1 Super Bowl during those years.

Meanwhile, the Vikings went 80-78-2 over that time period. Over the past 20 years, we've averaged 8.25 wins per year. The very definition of consistent mediocrity. Why are we mediocre? Because our front office somehow believes we're always just a tweak away. Like we can fix two decades of mediocrity by stockpiling late-round draft picks, signing free agents like Mike Remmers and Josh Kline, or signing a quarterback.

[StumpHunter]

For the 10 years 2010-2019, here are the leaders in total wins.
New England -- 125
Green Bay -- 102
Pittsburgh -- 102
Seattle -- 100
New Orleans -- 100
Baltimore -- 98
Kansas City -- 96

All but one of those teams appeared in at least 1 Super Bowl during those years.

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

[Pondering Her Percy]

For the 10 years 2010-2019, here are the leaders in total wins.
New England -- 125
Green Bay -- 102
Pittsburgh -- 102
Seattle -- 100
New Orleans -- 100
Baltimore -- 98
Kansas City -- 96

All but one of those teams appeared in at least 1 Super Bowl during those years.

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

Yeah "great QBs" in the top 5 but look at the SB wins outside of New England in your given time frame.

SB wins are as follows for those top 5 (outside of NE):
Packers: 1
Steelers: 0
Seahawks: 1
New Orleans: 0

.....But hey, you need a great QB to win a SB!

Just curious, who is your projected "great QB we missed out on"? Jordan love? Or will miss out on this draft?

[J. Kapp 11]

For the 10 years 2010-2019, here are the leaders in total wins.
New England -- 125
Green Bay -- 102
Pittsburgh -- 102
Seattle -- 100
New Orleans -- 100
Baltimore -- 98
Kansas City -- 96

All but one of those teams appeared in at least 1 Super Bowl during those years.

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

Totally agree.

I should clarify. When I say the Vikings try to fix things by signing a quarterback, I'm talking guys like Sam Bradford, Case Kennum and Kirk Cousins. I would even include the 2010 version of Brett Favre. Not the quarterbacks that are playing on the teams listed above.

[Frozen Rope]

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

Yeah "great QBs" in the top 5 but look at the SB wins outside of New England.

SB wins are as follows for those top 5 (outside of NE):
Packers: 1
Steelers: 0
Seahawks: 1
New Orleans: 0

.....But hey, you need a great QB to win a SB!

Just curious, who is your projected "great QB we missed out on" or will miss out on this draft? Jordan Love?

Good point PHP. I’m baffled by our supposed QB dilemma. The Super Bowl underscores my simple point. The game is won in the trenches. Brady had all day to throw. If you don’t think Cousins could have won that Super Bowl for the Bucs, I’m at a loss of what to say. The Vikings simply will never reach the promised land without a good, not great, OL. Give him an average OL, then condemn him. I occasionally look at BR, not often bc it’s click bait for the most part, but you can’t make up what former players are saying about Cousins and the Vikings.
They are saying no QB can win with that offensive line (crap line, as they call it) and we all know this to be true. They think Cousins has done a great job with the OL had to work with.
Even as great as Mahommes is, he looked average when his line couldn’t protect him.

[CharVike]

For the 10 years 2010-2019, here are the leaders in total wins.
New England -- 125
Green Bay -- 102
Pittsburgh -- 102
Seattle -- 100
New Orleans -- 100
Baltimore -- 98
Kansas City -- 96

All but one of those teams appeared in at least 1 Super Bowl during those years.

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

In 2019 Harbaugh had the NFL MVP on his team and he's a QB. They got dumped right off the bat. Didn't even show up. Scored a total of 12 points with the MVP. That's terrible coaching I think. But I agree Harbaugh is a very good coach. Zimmer went to the champ game with a stiff at QB Keenum. That's a guy people knock Speilman for signing. He was signed as a backup. Elway was the idiot when he gave Keenum the keys to the castle. Speilman told him to take a hike your not a starter level QB. Who was right?
The Rams and 49ers made the Super Bowl with non HOF QBs. There QBs weren't at the stiff level like Keenum. The Eagles made it with the bum Foles. That's why I said there isn't a dominate team in the NFC. Wilson or Rodgers should have eaten those teams up. But those two aren't at the Brady level. Not even close. Rodgers is a step down and Wilson is two steps down. Cousins is 3 steps down. Grap is 4 ect... Stafford and Goff 3 steps down. Trib for the Bears 5 steps down. Newton for the Pats 7 steps and Bill B didn't see that and he's the QB master.

[Passepartout]

It would be surprising and then again would not be if Bill Belichick choose a QB in the draft. As really in a sense, Tom Brady may be getting over in the last laugh. Sensing that he did not need the Patriots for him to win. As the Patriots for the very first time in over a decade did not see the playoffs. Last time was in 2008, when Brady was out for the year with the Patriots at the time

But really Kirk Cousins hopefully will get people off of him. As really seems like a good guy. But needs to produce wins and proves he can overcome the naysayers.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Yeah "great QBs" in the top 5 but look at the SB wins outside of New England.

SB wins are as follows for those top 5 (outside of NE):
Packers: 1
Steelers: 0
Seahawks: 1
New Orleans: 0

.....But hey, you need a great QB to win a SB!

Just curious, who is your projected "great QB we missed out on" or will miss out on this draft? Jordan Love?

Good point PHP. I’m baffled by our supposed QB dilemma. The Super Bowl underscores my simple point. The game is won in the trenches. Brady had all day to throw. If you don’t think Cousins could have won that Super Bowl for the Bucs, I’m at a loss of what to say. The Vikings simply will never reach the promised land without a good, not great, OL. Give him an average OL, then condemn him. I occasionally look at BR, not often bc it’s click bait for the most part, but you can’t make up what former players are saying about Cousins and the Vikings.
They are saying no QB can win with that offensive line (crap line, as they call it) and we all know this to be true. They think Cousins has done a great job with the OL had to work with.
Even as great as Mahommes is, he looked average when his line couldn’t protect him.

Well said. Cousins would've easily won that SB if he was on TB.

And regarding your last comment, I wouldn't even say Mahomes looked average when his line couldnt protect him. I think it's fair to say that is the worst Mahomes has ever looked in his career up to this point. As bad as the Vikings OL can be, that Chiefs OL made them look like the best OL in the league. They said Mahomes ran for the most yards before throwing of any QB in NFL history that game. Or maybe in SB history I cant remember the stat exactly but that is alarming.

We really need to do something with this interior OL. I think moving Cleveland to LT is a no brainer and cutting or trading Reiff. They need to get a decent free agent as well as an earlier round pick to cover both guard spots. I just have a bad feeling they will find a way to keep Reiff and Zim will be so hell bent of fixing the defense that guard will be ignored. I can see Zim keeping Reiff and keeping Ezra at RG and just replacing LG so it's one less position he has to fill. That's a bad move IMO. Ezra is a tackle and that's why he was drafted. No less keeping Reiff doesnt free up any cap space.

[StumpHunter]

You look at the top 5 teams in that list and there is a clear common factor: A great QB.

Harbaugh might be the most underrated HC in the NFL with what he has done with less than ideal QB play for most of his time in Baltimore.

Yeah "great QBs" in the top 5 but look at the SB wins outside of New England in your given time frame.

SB wins are as follows for those top 5 (outside of NE):
Packers: 1
Steelers: 0
Seahawks: 1
New Orleans: 0

.....But hey, you need a great QB to win a SB!

Just curious, who is your projected "great QB we missed out on"? Jordan love? Or will miss out on this draft?

So if you take out the QB who won 6 that is what you get?

Saints won one in 2009, Steelers in 2008, just outside the time range Kapp gave. I do think you unintentionally bring up a valid point though. Even with a great QB, it is hard to win a SB and a lot has to go right. Which is why you get a great QB who regularly gets your team to the playoffs and a QB who can win in the playoffs. You increase your odds of a lot going right by getting that QB who makes a lot of things go right.

We don't have that in MN. We also don't have the team around the QB who can pull off what the Eagles or Denver did recently, carrying a less than ideal QB to a SB win.

Finding that great QB is hard, and maybe even impossible if we can't get Watson, but a trade of Cousins for multiple firsts and 45 million more in cap over 2 years gives us a better chance of getting that great team at least. And if you don't think Cousins is worth multiple firsts, than he also isn't close to being worth the 66 million in cap we are going to spend on him over the next two seasons and we should just take what we can get for him and move on.

There is no logical reason for a fan who wants to win it all to want to keep him and the quickest path the to the SB for the Vikings right now is to get rid of him.