NFC South team reportedly called Vikings about a Kirk Cousins trade

In search of a new starting quarterback, the Carolina Panthers reportedly made a call to the Minnesota Vikings recently about a potential trade for Kirk Cousins.

This offseason, as is the case every year, there are several teams around the NFL that will be looking to make a change at the quarterback position. The Carolina Panthers are expected to be one of these teams, and recently, they reportedly made contact with the Minnesota Vikings about the possibility of acquiring Kirk Cousins in a trade.

According to SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad, who also spent a handful of years covering the Vikings for the Star Tribune, the Panthers recently made a call to the Vikings about making a deal for Cousins (details begin around the 19:15 mark of Monday’s Purple Daily podcast).

However, it sounds like this was more of just an attempt by Carolina to see how much the Minnesota quarterback would cost at this point in time since Zulgad added that the conversation “went nowhere, so far.”

Is a Kirk Cousins trade between the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers realistic?

Of the teams around the league that could potentially make an attempt to acquire Cousins from the Vikings this year, the Panthers should certainly be regarded as a believable destination for the veteran quarterback.

After failing to win more than five games in either of his first two seasons as Carolina’s head coach, Matt Rhule is likely willing to do anything it takes to save his job, and that might include trading for Cousins.

Cousins would be an upgrade over everyone that the Panthers have had starting under center during Rhule’s tenure, and that might be all the head coach is looking for.

Currently, Carolina is only projected to begin the 2022 free agency period in March with about $15.8 million in cap space. So some roster adjustments would clearly have to made in order for the Panthers to be able to afford Cousins and his 2022 cap hit of $35 million.

Minnesota has recently maintained that they are expecting Cousins to be their starting signal-caller for next season. But they have also made sure to mention that they will do whatever is best for the entire team moving forward.

This report about Carolina making contact with the Vikings shows that teams are definitely going to be calling about Cousins this offseason. Whether the quarterback is sent packing or not will just depend on what teams are willing to offer Minnesota in a trade package.