An East Coast NFC team is reportedly interested in trading for Kirk Cousins.
Calm down, Washington fans, it’s not the Commanders.
According to a report from SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad, the Carolina Panthers have inquired about trading for the Vikings quarterback.
“They have gotten a call,” Zulgad said of the Vikings. “Now, from what I’ve heard, it went nowhere so far. But it’s interesting that the phone did ring … and on the other end of the line: the Carolina Panthers.”
The Panthers are one of several quarterback-needy teams in the market for new signal-callers this offseason. In 2020, the team went 5-11 under now-Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Last season, in Matt Rhule’s second year as head coach, the team put its eggs in the Sam Darnold basket, to no avail. Darnold and Cam Newton, who the Panthers signed midway through the season as a Hail Mary attempt to save their season, between them led the team to a 5-12 record. The Panthers still owe Darnold $18.8 million for 2022.
This upcoming season is the last on Cousins’ deal with the Vikings. Cousins has a fully guaranteed salary of $35 million and a cap hit of $45 million, and according to football insider Jordan Schultz, unsurprisingly has no intention of taking a pay cut.
While his contract situation is far from ideal and the team has one playoff appearance during the four-year Cousins-era, Zulgad said the Vikings are not currently planning on moving the 33-year-old. Minnesota’s new head coach Kevin O’Connell, who was Cousins’ quarterbacks coach during his final season in Washington in 2017, is seen by many as a sign that the team is sticking with Cousins, at least for one more year.
“The Vikings supposedly have said to put a pin in that conversation and don’t plan to move him now,” Zulgad said. “Kirk’s refusal to take a pay cut leads me to believe that the Vikings would at least have the possibility of picking that phone back up.”
Has anyone called the #Vikings on Kirk Cousins… 👀🤔#SKOL pic.twitter.com/JE7F8TLHDK
— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) February 22, 2022
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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