Kirk Cousins just finished the best season he’s had in a Minnesota Vikings uniform since he signed with the team back in 2018.
Cousins got off to a pretty rough start with 10 interceptions in Minnesota’s first six games. But during the Vikings’ final 10 matchups of the season, the veteran quarterback threw 24 touchdowns and just three picks.
Cousins ended his third year in Minnesota with 4,265 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a 105.0 quarterback rating. Unfortunately, his success in 2020 didn’t result in the Vikings earning a spot in the playoffs.
Could the Minnesota Vikings trade Kirk Cousins within their own division?
With the Vikings missing out on the postseason in two of Cousins’ three years with the team, some are ready for the franchise to move on from the quarterback. Cutting him would cost too much, so a trade would be the only option for Minnesota if they have any desire to move on from him.
We already know the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts are two teams that could have an interest in making a deal for Cousins this year. But now, it seems like a fellow member of the NFC North could also be among the teams that might want to trade for the Vikings quarterback.
OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald recently spent some time breaking down the contract situations for each signal-caller around the NFL that could be dealt to another team this offseason and Cousins was one of the passers he included.
During his breakdown of Cousins’ contract, Fitzgerald mentioned that the 49ers, Colts, and Chicago Bears are some of the teams that could explore a trade for the Minnesota quarterback this year.
The Bears could be in a need of a new starting signal-caller for the 2021 season. But most probably figured that Chicago wouldn’t attempt to acquire a quarterback from a team in their own division.
Teams have been known to trade signal-callers to another squad in the same conference. But quarterback exchanges between two teams from the same division are pretty rare.
So if the Bears are determined to acquire Cousins before the start of the 2021 season, it might take a little extra compensation to complete a deal with the Vikings.
Chicago has selections in each of the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft and Minnesota would probably need at least two of these three picks to agree to any sort of trade involving their starting quarterback.
3 teams that could trade for Kirk Cousins in the 2021 offseason
There are a few teams around the NFL that could potentially make a deal to acquire Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2021.
Fitzgerald still believes the Vikings sending Cousins to another team this offseason is a “longshot.” But if Minnesota is presented with an offer they can’t refuse (just like with Stefon Diggs last year), it might be hard for them to decline.