Vikings are being urged to trade for Cowboys QB to replace Kirk Cousins

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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The Minnesota Vikings were dealt a devastating blow to their season as Kirk Cousins ​​suffered a major blow Achilles tendon injury in a Week 8 win against the Green Bay Packers.

After an 0-3 start to the season, Minnesota appeared to be turning things around with Cousins ​​at the helm of the offense. The Vikings earned convincing victories over the Packers (24-10) and San Francisco 49ers (22-17) in back-to-back weeks, with the defense beginning to complement Cousins ​​and the offense.

It’s not yet clear whether the C0usins ​​will miss the rest of the season, but after weeks of encouraging play, the mood in the locker room was down despite picking up a win at Lambeau Field. The future of the season is in doubt without the franchise’s quarterback — leading many experts to urge the Vikings to find a replacement for Cousins ​​to finish the 2023 season.

Alicia de Artola from the fansite proposed that the Vikings trade with the Dallas Cowboys to acquire either a backup player, Cooper Rush or Trey Lance.

The Vikings’ case for Cooper Rush vs. Trey Lance

GettyThe Cowboys are backing quarterbacks Trey Lance and Cooper Rush.

When the Vikings consider trading Rush or Lance, they need to consider both their short- and long-term prospects.

Rush is a sixth-year backup quarterback with one 5:1 record as a starter, which included a win over the Vikings on Halloween night of the 2021 season. He is a proven talent in the league and Minnesota knows what to expect in a trade.

However, Rush no longer has the same potential as Lance since he was drafted third overall by the 49ers in 2021. San Francisco spent three seasons trying to get that potential out of Lance before trading him to Dallas in September.

“The Cowboys took advantage of the opportunity [Lance] due to his potential, but he has only served as the team’s emergency quarterback and has not yet developed into a backup role behind Dak Prescott.” Artola wrote. “So a call to Dallas is at least warranted to see if they would be willing to get a better return on what they spent to get a quarterback they aren’t using at all. The Vikings can use a fourth-rounder from Detroit in addition to their own.”

Reports of a possible Lance trade surfaced twice during the offseason, but nothing materialized before the Cowboys signed the Marshall, Minnesota native for a fourth-rounder.

Rush is the viable backup who could be the more stable backup starter for the 2023 season. In the meantime, if given the chance, the Vikings could test what Lance has to offer, with the possibility of exercising his fifth-year option next offseason to secure him through the 2025 season.

“And if they’re not willing to budge on the former 49er, that call might as well go to Cooper Rush, the replacement who seems destined to lose his job to Lance. Rush, who is 5-1 as a starter, should be cheaper than Lance but could steady the ship in Minnesota,” Artola added.

Vikings rookie QB Jaren Hall made his first NFL appearance

GettyVikings rookie quarterback Jaren Hall in his first regular-season NFL appearance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.

The extent of a quarterback change remains up for debate in Minnesota, especially with only one quarterback expected to be active on the roster after Week 8.

Jaren Hall relieved Cousins ​​for the remainder of the fourth quarter, and after coming in cold, fumbling the ball and making a three-pointer on his first drive, he showed competent pocket awareness and movement, eventually converting a third-down pass TJ Hockenson for the win.

Hall could very well be the plan for the rest of the season, although O’Connell will have to pull together the playbook to put his rookie quarterback in position to succeed while Hall learns on the fly.

Trevor Squire is a sports journalist who covers the Minnesota Vikings for Heavy.com. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and worked at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at trevor.squire@heavy.com and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire