On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings saw two fellow members of the NFC make a trade that involved a pair of quarterbacks that were both No. 1 picks in the NFL Draft.
The Detroit Lions parted ways with longtime signal-caller Matthew Stafford and sent him to the Los Angles Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round draft pick, a 2022 first-round selection, and a first-round choice in 2023.
The Rams didn’t seem like a team in desperate need of a quarterback upgrade, but they obviously felt a move was necessary for them to contend in 2021. With the deal, a number of teams that were interested in trading for Stafford might turn their attention to the Vikings and Kirk Cousins.
What would it take for the Minnesota Vikings to trade Kirk Cousins?
With the amount of compensation the Lions received from Los Angeles in exchange for Stafford, it makes one wonder how much Minnesota could get in a deal involving Cousins.
Say a team offers the Vikings at least two first-round picks, including one from this year’s draft, for Cousins. That’s a deal that might be difficult for Minnesota to decline, especially if it can result in them being able to trade up in the draft and land one of the top quarterback prospects.
In terms of production and the amount of success they’ve experienced in their NFL careers, Cousins and Stafford are very similar. Now that the former Detroit signal-caller is no longer available, it wouldn’t be shocking if some of the teams that expressed interest in Stafford, shifted their attention to acquiring the Vikings starting quarterback.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday, a number of teams expressed interest in trading for Stafford, including the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and New England Patriots.
Out of these teams mentioned, the Bears might be the only team Minnesota would not trade with since they are a team from within their own division. But other than Chicago, keep an eye on the other five squads potentially working out a deal to land Cousins this offseason.
In order for the Vikings to agree to a trade involving their starting quarterback, however, they would likely need to receive a similar amount of compensation that was given up by the Rams to acquire Stafford.
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With Minnesota not currently being in desperate need of a new quarterback too, an offer for Cousins might actually need to include even better assets than what Los Angles just gave up.