4 reasons why the Vikings should trade Kirk Cousins in 2022
By Dean Jones
Vikings need a better long-term plan
Going forward with Kirk Cousins in 2022 represents a band-aid solution to what’s going to become a major concern this time next year. Paying the signal-caller another lucrative extension that’s fully guaranteed is only going to complicate matters and the Vikings need a better long-term option to improve the team’s chances in the coming years.
Changing the head coach and general manager at the same time is always going to come with a period of transition. All the talk has been of retooling rather than rebuilding, although that’s going to be immensely difficult with almost no financial resources to speak of.
Trading Cousins as part of a longer strategy to enter Super Bowl contention should be explored by those in power. Some might not like it, but the player’s contract and unwillingness to kick some cash down the road is selfish and not in keeping with what other veteran quarterbacks across the league are doing to help their team.
Take Tom Brady, for example. The recently retired player spent years giving discounts to the New England Patriots on the premise that talent remained around him, which brought six Super Bowls working with Bill Belichick and seven in total.
Cousins is no Brady, obviously. But there appears to be a reluctance to do what’s necessary, even if he is entitled to do as he pleases.
Whether it’s this season or next, the Vikings and Cousins will go their separate ways. Doing it now could impact their hopes in 2022, but it might also put them in a stronger position looking at the bigger picture.