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Vikings QB Kirk Cousins talks no-trade clause
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was asked about his no-trade clause on Wednesday with the team at 1-4 and the trade deadline at the end of October.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings are 1-4, head to Soldier Field this week to face the Chicago Bears in their first NFC North Division game, and there’s renewed speculation about Kirk Cousins’ future in Minnesota.
Several national reporters have speculated about the Vikings trading Cousins with the team in a tailspin, and unlikely to make the NFC Playoffs after losing four of their first five games. Cousins’ current contract includes a full no-trade clause, meaning he would have to agree to waive that clause if the Vikings were interested in dealing him.
He was asked about that very topic at TCO Performance Center on Wednesday.
"I’m just very focused on the Bears and going 1-0 this week, and anything else is just not worth my time or energy or attention," Cousins said.
What’s telling there is that’s not a definitive "no." The NFL’s trade deadline is at the end of October.
Cousins is in the final year of his current deal and is set to become a free agent next March. Somebody, if not the Vikings, will pay him. Cousins is currently second in the NFL with 1,498 passing yards, and leads the league with 13 touchdowns.
In 85 games with the Vikings, Cousins has passed for more than 22,000 yards, 166 touchdowns and 54 interceptions. But in five-plus seasons with Minnesota, he has just one playoff win.
It’s a situation worth monitoring as the next four games without Justin Jefferson include the Bears, 49ers, Packers and Falcons.