Kirk Cousins Big Loser After Vikings Make 2 Major QB Moves

The Minnesota Vikings now appear highly unlikely to reunite with quarterback Kirk Cousins, despite multiple reports over the last week that such a development was on the table.

Minnesota made two significant moves at the QB position on Saturday, April 26. First, the team traded the No. 142 pick in the fifth round of the NFL draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the No. 172 pick and signal caller Sam Howell. Howell is just 24 years old with 20 games of experience under his belt (18 starts) and figures to back up J.J. McCarthy come Week 1 of the season.

After the draft concluded, the Vikings signed former University of Minnesota QB Max Brosmer to a $250,000 guaranteed deal as an undrafted free agent. Brosmer and Howell will join 28-year-old Brett Rypien and McCarthy in the franchise’s quarterback room headed into training camp.

Cousins is looking for a way out of the Atlanta Falcons organization after the team benched him for Michael Penix Jr. during the middle of last season. However, Cousins inked a four-year deal worth $180 million to join Atlanta last spring, which included $100 million in guaranteed money.

That contract complicated a potential return to Minnesota given the expenses the Vikings would have had to incur to make it happen. And after the team decided to trade for Howell and sign Brosmer on Saturday, it’s now very unlikely that Cousins returning to Minnesota is a viable possibility.