Could the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings consider a quarterback trade swap of Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield?
That is being heavily talked about after the Minnesota Vikings finalized a deal to bring in Cleveland Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their next general manager. That deal has sparked speculation that a quarterback swap between the two squads could be closer to reality.
33-year-old Kirk Cousins passed for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. The biggest issue with moving him is his contract, with Cousins due a whopping $35 million next season.
The Browns are also facing tough decisions at quarterback, as Baker Mayfield enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract absent an extension.
Ian Wharton of Complex had already predicted that Cousins would end up playing for the Browns in 2022.
“As painful as it may be for [Cleveland] Browns fans who are loyal to the quarterback who helped break the franchise’s playoff drought, the team needs to explore all avenues to improve the position. [Baker] Mayfield was awful in 2021 as injuries exacerbated poor decision-making, field vision, and accuracy. In total, Mayfield has been average or worse for the majority of his tenure in Cleveland considering 2019, the first half of 2020, and 2021.
The good news is there are plenty of better candidates on the market. While the team should do everything they can to acquire Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson, both of those players have the cache and, in Watson’s case a no-trade clause, to direct where they’d go. They should want to join Cleveland’s impressive roster, but it’s unknown how they feel at this time.
The natural choice is to acquire Kirk Cousins as the Vikings look to shake up their roster and coaching staff. Cousins is entering the last year of his deal, owed $35 million in salary and carrying a $45 million cap hit. That deal is meant to be restructured, and Cleveland can oblige without killing their flexibility.
Cousins’ familiarity and extreme success with Stefanski makes this an easy fit to see. Cousins isn’t nearly as impactful as his crazy stat lines suggest, but he raises the baseline of an offense to a solid level. Cleveland would be a considerable Super Bowl contender with a borderline top-10 quarterback like Cousins, and he takes the guesswork out of the position that Mayfield brings.”
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Browns reporter Tony Grossi of The Land on Demand said he feels like the “dots are being laid” for the trade and laid out the possibilities. He assessed the trade value of the Vikings QB as a third-round pick, in addition to a conditional pick that could go as high as the first round.
The question for the Browns would be whether or not Cousins is a significant upgrade over Mayfield when both are healthy. Mayfield passed for 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season but played through a torn labrum. He has since had surgery.
