The Minnesota Vikings are 0-3 – and could be looking at an 0-4 start after Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers – but according to The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini, they aren’t ready to trade Justin Jefferson or Kirk Cousins as part of a rebuilding effort.
Cousins has been a popular trade nominee for the New York Jets as they look to find a way to replace Aaron Rodgers, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
While Russini noted that the rest of the season could be “impactful” for head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas and that a source stated that “people could lose jobs” if they stick with Zach Wilson at quarterback, the Jets have not called the Vikings about Cousins, per Russini.
Russini went on to say that two team sources said the Vikings are not punting on the season despite their slow start and have no plans to trade Cousins, who is in the final year of his contract and would need to waive his no-trade clause in order for any deal to take place.
Her sources also shot down a potential trade for Jefferson, who is under contract through the 2024 season but could not reach an agreement on a contract extension before the 2023 season kicked off.
Just days ago Jefferson said he was “tired” of the trade speculation.
“I’m tired of people saying we’re looking to next season. All of the trades and stuff like that. We’re focused still on this season. We have a lot more games to go and a lot more things to accomplish this season,” Jefferson said. “We’re still focused in and we still have that same goal as we had before the season. We just need to fix a few things and we’ll be back on track.”
Both the Jets and Vikings seem to be status quo as they head into Sunday’s action but it could be a fluid situation if the Jets and Vikings continue to lose.
