With the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams both looking to finish atop the NFC West in 2023, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio predicts the two NFL teams will be battling it out for the same quarterback in 2024.
Kirk Cousins has been linked to Kyle Shanahan since the latter became the coach of San Francisco in 2017. Given Cousins and Shanahan’s history with Washington – the latter being the former’s offensive coordinator for two seasons – Florio thinks they could reunite in the Bay Area – – if the veteran signalman doesn’t land with the Rams first.
“I think you’re going to see – unless the Vikings re-sign him by then, and they can’t use the franchise tag on him the way his contract is structured – you’re going to see a potential tug of war between Kyle Shanahan and [Rams coach] Sean McVay for Kirk Cousins next March,” Florio said Thursday on “The Rich Eisen Show” (h/t 49ers Webzone).
The 49ers remain optimistic that second-year quarterback Brock Purdy will recover from elbow surgery in time to play Week 1 in 2023, and they have Trey Lance and Sam Darnold set to compete for the back-up position in camp. training. It’s unclear how the campaign will pan out, however, and Florio believes San Francisco could use Cousins next year when he’s set to become a free agent.
The Cousins helped the Minnesota Vikings win the NFC North 13-4 in 2022, completing 65.9% of his passes for a career-high 4,547 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The 34-year-old has remained relatively healthy throughout his career, which could pique interest from the 49ers and Rams.
Matthew Stafford came to Los Angeles in 2021 with a long injury history and missed eight games in 2022, and Cousins’ skills could make sense in McVay’s offense as the coach is a product of the Shanahan drive shaft. But Stafford is signed with the Rams until 2026, so the logistics don’t make sense unless those retirement rumors come true.
And while the Faithful 49ers may not think Cousins’ arrival in the Bay makes sense given two younger, cheaper options for the future in Purdy and Lance, it does. not the first time Florio has pointed out the supposed connection.
“Apparently at the scouting meeting there was some chatter, there was some noise, among people within the larger structure of the league, not the media, but people in the league about of the Cousins trade to the 49ers,” Florio said in late March. “It was a hot topic at one point in Indianapolis.”
Dating back to 2017, it looks like the Shanahan-Cousins rumors may never end. But until then, the 49ers have 2023 to focus on — and an entirely different battle with McVay, the Rams and the rest of NFC West.
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