4 NFL Teams That Should Pursue Kirk Cousins Trade After Justin Jefferson Injury
The Minnesota Vikings' tumultuous 2023 NFL season has gone from bad to worse after ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that All-Pro wideout Justin Jefferson will be heading to injured reserve due to a hamstring strain. The Vikings were already facing an uphill battle to reach the playoffs following their 1-4 start and are likely staring down a lost season with their top offensive talent now unavailable until Week 10 at the earliest.
On the bright side, Minnesota's front office now has a much easier decision to make regarding when to start engaging in a rebuilding process. With the October 31 trade deadline looming, Vikings brass would have been forced to decide on becoming buyers with the goal of salvaging a sinking campaign or selling off assets while looking ahead to the future. Selling is now the more obvious choice, as it could net Minnesota some much-needed draft capital to reinforce the roster with in 2024 and beyond.
Given Kirk Cousins is playing out the final year of his contract and set to hit the open market this coming spring, Minnesota should trade the veteran quarterback to maximize returns. While the team won't lose out entirely if it elects not to deal the 35-year-old—Cousins will be a coveted free agent who should net a decent compensatory selection, assuming the Vikings let him walk following five-plus relatively fruitless years—it could return premium draft picks by shipping him off to a potential contender desperate for a competent passer.
As bad as Minnesota's record looks, Cousins has actually been faring quite well at an individual level and is still in his prime. He's kept the Vikings competitive in nearly every contest—all four of their losses have been by seven points or fewer, including a 27-20 defeat against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend—while completing a respectable 67.2 percent of his throws for 1,498 yards and 13 touchdowns over the first five weeks. That has him on pace to exceed the 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns he amassed in 2022 when the Vikings went 13-4 in the regular season.
Several teams stand out for their likelihood to pursue Cousins ahead of the trade deadline. While some may have to do some salary-cap finagling to fit the Michigan State product's $35 million contract on their books, the payoff could be well worth it. It is worth noting that Cousins does have a no-trade clause in his contract and would have to approve any deal the Vikings might be willing to make, but it's likely the signal-caller would welcome a chance to chase a ring.
With that in mind, here are four teams that could make a run at Kirk Cousins should he become available.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are chock-full of talented skill-position players whom the franchise expended first-round picks on over the last few years, but their development is currently being squandered by a lack of competence under center. The team didn't have an heir-apparent to Matt Ryan on the roster when it traded the longtime starter away following the 2021 campaign and has since relied on veteran journeyman Marcus Mariota and 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder to run the offense.
Mariota lasted less than a full season before Atlanta's coaching staff handed the reins to Ridder. While the Cincinnati product didn't completely underwhelm in his rookie season—he completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 708 yards and two touchdowns while avoiding any interceptions and posting a 2-2 record in his four starts—it didn't inspire much confidence either. The 24-year-old hasn't displayed much growth in Year 2, and while he's taken the team to a 3-2 record while connecting on 65.4 percent of his throws for 1,073 yards and four touchdowns, he's also tossed interceptions and has done a poor job getting some of his top pass-catchers involved.
Kyle Pitts is noticeably struggling with Ridder under center. The tight end was regarded as a can't-miss prospect when he was taken No. 4 overall in 2021 and had a strong rookie season—finishing with 1,026 yards and a touchdown on 68 receptions—but saw his sophomore campaign derailed by injury and inconsistency. Things have not gotten better in 2023, with Pitts reeling in just 18 passes for 208 yards thus far.
Drake London, the team's first-round pick last year, is also slumping. After securing 72 passes for 866 yards and four touchdowns last year, the USC product isn't on pace to make a leap after hauling in a meager 17 passes for 204 yards and two scores in 2023.
While some of these disappointing performances can be attributed to the presence of Bijan Robinson—the generational running back prospect who the Falcons landed at No. 8 overall this year—and the workload he's taken on, much of the blame can be attributed to Ridder's mediocre play. Upgrading to Kirk Cousins might be the shot in the arm this offense needs to ascend from the middle of the pack into the upper echelon.
Cousins clearly understands how to get his top pass-catchers involved and has been responsible for developing two wideouts into stars since arriving in Minnesota. Adam Thielen had his best season after Cousins signed with the Vikings in 2018, catching a career-high 113 passes for 1,373 yards to go along with nine touchdowns that year. Cousins also helped elevate Justin Jefferson to the league's best wideout, evidenced by his incredible 360 receptions for 5,396 yards and 28 touchdowns over his first 55 career games.
It may not be time to give up on Ridder's chances of becoming a viable starting quarterback, but it's obvious he's not ready to maximize the talent on this roster yet either. Making a move to acquire Cousins would allow him more time to develop on the bench and allow the Falcons to contend until he's ready to take over again.
New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots offense has hit rock-bottom after quarterback Mac Jones was pulled in back-to-back blowout losses. It's an especially disheartening showing from the third-year signal-caller considering the team made sweeping personnel changes this offseason in an attempt to reboot a failing offense. Inept coaching staff members like Matt Patricia and Joe Judge were removed from their posts and replaced by new offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien—who served in the same role during a successful 2011 campaign—but those decisions have yet to pay off.
Jones has struggled since a promising rookie season in which he led the Pats to a playoff berth and earned a Pro Bowl spot. The 2021 first-rounder completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions that season, but in the 19 games since he's clearly regressed. In that span Jones has completed 64.4 percent of his throws for 4,005 yards and 19 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. New England's record in Jones' starts has dropped from 10-7 during his rookie season to 6-8 last year to just 1-4 in 2023.
The Patriots have some tough decisions to make regarding the team's future. An NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando that the Patriots should replace Bill Belichick with a young, offensive-minded head coach to find out if Jones is worth keeping.
It's debatable whether the Patriots should give Jones one more year. While he has shown glimpses of franchise potential, the 25-year-old has lacked consistency and is now mired in a concerning slump.
Rather than fire the coach who helped bring six championships to New England, the Patriots should first make a change under center. Sending Jones to the bench on a full-time basis for the rest of this season and replacing him with a proven signal-caller like Kirk Cousins would give a more accurate assessment of where this offense is and what it is capable of.
While the roster lacks a true No. 1 receiver—offseason signing JuJu Smith-Schuster doesn't appear to be the answer to that issue with just 14 catches for 86 yards since signing in New England—there should be enough pass-catching talent here with the likes of Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry and DeVante Parker, plus Tyquan Thornton's likely return from IR in the near future, to get the job done.
If the team gets Cousins and still struggles offensively, it will be time for more drastic measures.
At best, New England may even turn things around by contesting for a playoff spot this season and extending Cousins on a long-term deal. At worst, the Patriots lose a bit of draft capital and figured out where the real problem with the offense lies.
New York Jets
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The New York Jets looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender heading into the 2023 season, but they have no shot at completing that mission without a quality quarterback.
The team took a swing for the fences by trading for Aaron Rodgers, plugging the most glaring hole on a competitive roster with a future Hall of Famer. While it seemed that Rodgers would be the exact player Gang Green needed to finally snap the league's longest postseason drought, a torn Achilles just four plays into his first regular-season game with the franchise seemed to end any real hope of bringing home a Lombardi Trophy.
While the Jets did end a three-game losing skid this past weekend and moved to 2-3 on the year, Zach Wilson has failed to show much growth since re-assuming the starting quarterback role. It is readily apparent that Wilson will not be able to maximize the talent of those around him while avoiding the type of mistakes that will cost New York wins.
Rather than flounder through another middling season in which the Jets win enough games on the back of their defense and running game to finish near .500 but still outside the playoff field, they should go get another high-end quarterback if the chance presents itself. Although Cousins would be potentially costly—especially for a team that already gave up draft capital to get a signal-caller this season—he is the best, if not the only, chance New York has to seriously contend in 2023.
One of the biggest issues the Jets will face when deciding on a Cousins offer will be Rodgers' recovery status. The 39-year-old has maintained he is working to get back on the field in time for a potential playoff run and provided more insight into his recovery last week. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said that his rehab is "well ahead of the normal protocols."
Regardless, the Jets could find themselves in the league's basement by the time Rodgers is ready to suit up again. While Wilson had a decent outing against a hapless Denver Broncos squad on Sunday, he'll face a much tougher foe in the Philadelphia Eagles this coming weekend with several difficult tests on the horizon. Barring an unexpected winning streak, trading for Cousins will become much more appealing leading up to the deadline.
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Washington Commanders
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Kirk Cousins began his career with the Washington Commanders and could see it come full circle by finishing it with the franchise. Washington selected Cousins in the fourth round of the 2012 draft as a backup to prized No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III. Injuries to the starter eventually led to Cousins taking over the QB1 role on a full-time basis in 2015. While he found success that year by bringing Washington to the playoffs and earned his first Pro Bowl nod the following year, the Commanders let Cousins walk after the Minnesota Vikings offered the quarterback a blockbuster contract as a free agent in 2018.
A return to Washington could finally see Cousins and the Commanders make a meaningful playoff run together. The franchise has been to the postseason only once since Cousins departed and has a single playoff victory since the turn of the millennium. The team has been plagued by quarterback woes since Cousins left—starting a whopping 12 different players under center in that half-decade span—but does have a decent defense and an intriguing crop of skill-position players.
Sam Howell, Washington's current starter, has shown flashes of potential in his second season and first as the Commanders' QB1. In his five starts this season, Howell has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 1,349 yards and six touchdowns but also has thrown six interceptions, taken a concerning 29 sacks and has a 2-3 record. The UNC product has a ways to go before he could be considered a franchise quarterback, and he could benefit from learning behind Cousins.
Cousins should be able to get the most out of players currently being underutilized, such as star wideout Terry McLaurin—who has a middling 261 yards and one score on 25 catches since signing a three-year, $71 million extension this past offseason—and Jahan Dotson, Washington's first-round pick last year who has just 140 yards and a score on 17 receptions.
While the Commanders defense has taken a step back in 2023—it ranked No. 3 in total defense and No. 7 in scoring last year—having a quarterback like Cousins who can consistently move the chains, keep drives alive and put points on the board would boost this unit as well.
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