As one of the world's foremost thought leaders in imaginary Kirk Cousins trades, I thought I had covered pretty much everything.
What if the Vikings traded Kirk Cousins ... to the Packers?
I can barely believe what I just read.
January 28, 2022 at 5:50PM
You could even accuse me of letting Cousins live rent-free in my head (he can stay, but his rocks need to pay).
But he's one of the most polarizing figures in recent Minnesota sports history. And this 2022 offseason sets up to be a fascinating one regarding his future. So I can't help it.
Still, I was not prepared for what I read Friday morning on ESPN's web site — something I also talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast.
Bill Barnwell, whose writing I enjoy quite a bit, went through a series of hypotheticals on how Tampa Bay and Green Bay could replace Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, respectively, if neither are back in 2022.
Writes Barnwell: The Packers aren't trading Rodgers to the Vikings, but if they ship Rodgers elsewhere, would the Vikings consider trading them Cousins?
I'm sorry, what?
Barnwell continued, noting that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has praised Cousins in the past and was his QB coach in Washington. Green Bay runs a system familiar to Cousins.
"Like anything, Green Bay's interest in Cousins might depend on the price," he writes. "There could be a meaningful trade market for Cousins, but if that's not the case, the Vikings might just try to move on from him to clear out cap space. If that's true, the Packers could loom as a logical landing point."
Brushing aside the salary cap hurdles this would take ...
Sorry, but this only works in the opposite direction, right? Brett Favre ended his career with the Vikings a decade ago, getting very close to the Super Bowl, and for years there has been an undercurrent of sentiment wondering if Rodgers might do the same thing — not immediately, but someday.
Any Vikings fan who is on board with trading Cousins — a growing and large group in my estimation — would immediately worry that upon getting traded to Green Bay Cousins would suddenly transform into a Super Bowl champion.
But this rivalry could use a little more spice, and however crazy this trade idea is it certainly would provide some drama.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
