The trade deadline is in the books for the 2025 season. New York Jets fans can’t be too happy about losing a couple of defensive stars to the Cowboys and Colts, but a bag of draft picks that will bring them joy in April over the next two years could make them feel a little better.
The Minnesota Vikings didn’t pull off any moves on Tuesday, for the first time since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took over. It’s been a quiet element of the NFL season for Skol Nation.
Sticky Vikings Rumor Will Vanish (For Now)
For other teams, of course, trades aren’t permitted for the remainder of the season, too.
Someone who might be a little disgruntled about that is quarterback Kirk Cousins. The four-time Pro Bowler and long-time Vikings quarterback will have to spend the second half of the season with the Atlanta Falcons, where he is the backup for Michael Penix.
His love relationship with his third franchise lasted about six weeks before the club decided to spend the valuable top-ten pick on a quarterback, despite having handed him $180,000,000 for four years of service.
Last week, national media tried to push Mr. Cousins in the Vikings’ rumor mill and it worked, with Carson Wentz done for the season and the Vikings potentially looking for a new wingman for starter J.J. McCarthy.
For example, NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote last week, “Minnesota is the only fit for Cousins at this stage. The 37-year-old quarterback did his trade value no favors with Sunday’s outing against Miami. The Falcons haven’t shown much interest in dealing the QB, but as the season spirals, perhaps they’d change gears, especially with only five draft picks in 2026 at the moment.”
The starting gigs are limited, and injured QB1s have either been replaced in-house or by acquiring Joe Flacco.
Adam Schefter, ESPN, reported last weekend, “The Minnesota Vikings did not want to head into this season without an experienced veteran backup quarterback … If that was Minnesota’s thought process before the season, sources believe it would be the same now, with the Vikings still needing an experienced veteran backup for J.J. McCarthy. Kirk Cousins would make sense, but the Falcons haven’t shown any willingness to trade him, and Atlanta needs an experienced veteran backup of its own.”
Minnesota only employs rookie Max Brosmer and practice squad passer John Wolford behind starter McCarthy, and it was fair to suggest that head coach Kevin O’Connell would like a more experienced backup in the building.
O’Connell said Monday, “I think with bringing John (Wolford) in, it was something where we wanted to make sure we had a third guy in the room … He’s got experience, understanding how our pass offense works and how we want to operate. As he said, ‘I think I’m the old guy in the room now.’ I think that’s important for two young guys to have that third in there. I feel pretty comfortable with that room right now.”
Either way, for Cousins, it would’ve been a lateral move. His status quo and a potential Minnesota trade scenario both include backup duties for a sophomore quarterback. And with the starting jobs taken around the league, there’s not much wiggle room for him to see the field.
He, indeed, started a game a couple of weeks ago, but the Falcons lost 34-10 at home to the Miami Dolphins —an almost inexcusable result given Miami’s struggles. Cousins completed 21 of 31 passes for 173 yards. His touchdown and interception columns showed goose eggs.
After the season, the Falcons still owe Cousins a bunch of money, but they could cut him and take a $35 million dead cap hit, which is more realistic than this year’s astronomical numbers.
While you won’t have to read any trade rumors in the next few months, don’t expect them to vanish forever. Cousins will either be on the trade block or back into free agency in February, March, or April, and you can bet that the Vikings will be listed among the top destinations for the second-ranked touchdown-scorer in franchise history.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
