In a time when we're all scrambling to figure out what to write about – and how to react to what others have written about – ESPN has delivered in the funniest way possible.
Reader, consider the Minnesota Vikings. Our purple friends to the north have been kinda good, but not quite great, for a while now. It's sorta their thing. Recently, they decided replacing Kirk Cousins – who is probably the poster boy for being good-but-not-great – for another, younger QB who's also, you guessed it, considered good-but-not-great. It's a bold strategy for sure.
But [dramatic music swells] what if I told you that they could have both? What if I told you that instead of trying to that the Vikings' quest to collect every good-but-not-great QB in the NFL right now was right at our fingertips? That'd be the highlight of your day? Well, like I said, ESPN delivers. In their latest Cousins speculation, they floated arguably the funniest trade you'll see all offseason.
The Vikings bringing Kirk Cousins back after one (1) year might be TOO funny to take seriously
Falcons get: QB Sam Howell, cash considerations
Vikings get: Cousins
"The key to the compensation for a Cousins deal is how much of his guaranteed money the acquiring team will take on. I'll raise Dan's offer and say the Vikings pay $12 million of it. This would allow Atlanta to save a little face and get out of the situation with a different backup quarterback. For Minnesota, the upgrade at backup QB is more important because of the McCarthy situation. Cousins will have to accept a lesser role with his old team, but at least he'd be reunited with coach Kevin O'Connell."
Objectively, I don't actually hate the idea of Cousins returning to Minnesota as the backup. It makes a ton of sense for both sides, in theory. But other than that, it's just too funny to take seriously. And I think there's probably a world where I'm extremely eating my words about this sometime in mid-November, but it's not mid-November right now. Right now it's June, and in June there's nothing funnier than the thought of Cousins returning to the team he very-publicly left one (1) single year ago, but this time as the backup. It is such a funny premise that I can't even organize my thoughts coherently – I am simply overwhelmed by the humor of it all.
Do it, Minnesota. We all need something to keep us laughing until training camp starts. Then the panic begins.
