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Vikings' Kirk Cousins: 'I Don't Give a Lot of Credibility' to Trade Rumors
February 4, 2021
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins isn't concerned about being the subject of trade rumors.
"'Rumor' is not a word I like to hear," he said in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "I don't give a lot of credibility to the word 'rumor.'"
With the quarterback market heating up following the Detroit Lions' decision to deal Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for Jared Goff, Cousins—like many other NFL signal-callers—has popped up in speculation already this year.
One of the most popular landing spots for Cousins is San Francisco, which would reunite him with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. The pair worked together in Washington in 2012 and 2013, when Cousins backed up Robert Griffin III in an offense run by Shanahan.
The relationship is so strong that it deterred Shanahan from drafting Patrick Mahomes in 2017, because he "felt confident" that Cousins would move on from Washington and he would be able to sign him in San Francisco (h/t NBC Sports). Instead, the team traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, who signed a five-year extension after a promising 2017 season in which he won all five of his starts.
But after Cousins' third season in Minnesota, when he posted 4,265 yards and a career-high 35 touchdowns with 13 interceptions, the quarterback gave the Vikings little incentive to shop him.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said he wasn't aware of any active trade discussions involving Cousins.
"I guess something could happen, but I haven't heard that that's the case, so I don't know where that's coming from," he said in an appearance on the The Haberman & Middlekauff Podcast (h/t Kyle Madson of NinersWire).