Vikings Trade For Kirk Cousins Came at the Perfect Time

The Minnesota Vikings have been able to have a solid start to the season as they are sitting at 6-2, but the offense has really struggled in the passing game, so the Vikings took action as they traded for quarterback Kirk Cousins and sent a 2027 third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders, which should really help the Minnesota offense.

Focusing on trade to acquire Cousins it seems like the Vikings made this move at the perfect time as it could be a turning point in the season for Minnesota.

To start, the offense was having a lot of trouble moving the ball, especially through the air and with Cousins now at quarterback this team should have a lot more success in that area.

The reason for that is the fact that Cousins has familiarity with the offense under head coach Kevin O'Connell, and he should be able to pick it up quickly and hopefully pick back up with wide receiver Justin Jefferson and wide receiver Jordan Addison, as well as tight end T.J. Hockenson, to hopefully get each of them going and help this offense to be much more productive and effective.

Aside from the familiarity, Cousins also come in after playing solid for the Raiders and with the defense that the Vikings have, that is all they need at the quarterback position, but that is not what they have had so far this year. Between quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, Minnesota has picked up six wins and two losses, but the offense has only scored at least 20 points twice and has failed to score a touchdown in three separate games.

Simply put, that is not sustainable, even for a defense like the Vikings have under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, which is a major reason why the addition of Cousins will likely be very impactful.

The final reason why this move for Cousins comes at the perfect time is that the Vikings have a big matchup this week against the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers, which could play a key part in the playoff seeding and the divisional race down the stretch, with Minnesota hoping to complete the sweep after beating Green Bay in Week 1.

Now, the Vikings will have to go on the road for this game, but that is not the only challenge in this matchup. The main challenge is the Minnesota defense trying to stop Packers quarterback Jordan Love as he has been playing very well and actually leads the NFL in passing yards with 2,618 passing yards on the year.

The good news for the Vikings is that they were able to find some success through Flores' aggressive blitzing in Week 1 in the second half specifically, but after seeing it once, there isn no question that Love and the Packers will have a much better plan in pass protection which could leave the Minnesota secondary vulnerable against two great receivers in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden as well as a great tight end in Tucker Kraft.

All that said, if the Vikings' defense has some issues against the Packers' passing attack, Minnesota will need the offense to get at least 20 points and maybe even more, which is something that Cousins is definitely equipped to do, which could help the Vikings get back in the win column.

Moving forward, if Cousins can put this Vikings offense to be significantly more productive than it has been, it is very possible that Minnesota could pick up a major road win this week against the Packers but also, could put this team in a position to win the NFC North which would be a major step for this team.