Are the Vikings done with Cousins? Not according to Jay Glazer
The writing has seemingly been on the wall for a while that the Kirk Cousins era in Minnesota is coming to an end soon. Not so fast according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer.
In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show Wednesday, Glazer said he believes the "Vikings want [Cousins] back."
That would certainly come as news to just about everybody who has followed the Vikings. The front office signaled their intent this offseason by not offering a new deal for Cousins who has been forced to play out the final year of his contract. Now with a dismal 1-4 start and the prospect of star receiver Justin Jefferson out or a while witha strained hamstring, there have been calls for the Vikings to wave the white flag and start preparing for the future.
"I don't know where you could go, especially with the type of contract he's going to want," responded Glazer when asked about potential trade destinations outside of the oft-rumored New York Jets. "See, here's the thing too with the trade deadline. The guys that do normally get traded are somebody in that last year of their deal. You'll see a billion names out there right now. So, it's usually a guy in the last year of their deal who you're not only trading for but you do have to give them some sort of monster contract going forward. . . It's usually somebody who [the team] probably is not going to re-sign them so let's go get a bunch [of picks] for them. I want everybody, when they're looking at the trade deadline, to look at those names not just 'Well this team stinks so they're going to have a fire sale.' Not everybody is just going to have a fire sale because their team isn't doing well."
Last year of his contract? Check. Team looks like they don't want to re-sign him? Check. Sure sounds like the situation with Cousins and the Vikings. Or not...
"I think the Vikings want him back," Glazer responded when asked about Cousins's situation. "At least in camp they did. I haven't been back there since camp but I think they wanted him back then."
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell have been good about dodging questions regarding Cousins's long-term future in Minnesota. As for Cousins, he was blunt Wednesday about not being drawn into discussions about his future, telling media "I'm just very focused on the Bears and going 1-0 this week. Anything else is not worth my time, energy, or attention."
"Whether a trade is realistic or not, the chances of Cousins playing in Minnesota after this season get lower and lower with each loss and the discussion about the team’s shortcomings in terms of postseason success during his era as Vikings quarterback gets louder," Purple Insider's Matthew Coller wrote in his Thursday article looking at Cousins's future.
With a strong possibility of a 2-5 or 1-6 record staring them in the face heading into the trade deadline, the Vikings are being heavily linked with an oncoming fire sale that could see the Vikings move on from Cousins after nearly six seasons.
Cousins said Wednesday with "so much to play for" there is "urgency going into this week.”
Without Jefferson for the foreseeable future and a deep hole to dig themselves out from, the Vikings front office will be fielding plenty of calls for the likes of K.J. Osborn and Danielle Hunter over the next couple weeks.
Conversation regarding Kirk Cousins starts at the 4:28 mark in the video below
