Vikings pay huge Kirk Cousins price to fix QB debacle after dealing J.J. McCarthy away
Talk about inflation.The Minnesota Vikings, who traded 23-year-old J.J.McCarthy to the Giants for a measly 2027 fifth-round pick earlier this season, gave up a third-rounder in ‘27 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday to reunite with Kirk Cousins.
Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.The Vikings, with perhaps the top defense in the NFL, were forced into the move prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m.
trade deadline after their quarterback situation — an issue all season — bottomed out in Monday night’s home loss to the Buffalo Bills.With Kyler Murray out with a hamstring injury, head coach Kevin O’Connell turned to Carson Wentz and the results were catastrophic, as Wentz went 8-for-25 for just 81 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.As the possibility of wasting coordinator Brian Flores’ defense — as well as a season of star receiver Justin Jefferson’s prime — grew, the Vikings were left little choice but to try to upgrade at QB.But there weren’t many intriguing options available.The Vikings were also linked to ex-Giant Daniel Jones, who has struggled with the Colts this season, after he spent time in Minnesota following his release by the Giants two years ago.Instead, the Vikings turned to the 38-year-old Cousins, who played six seasons in Minnesota from 2018-23.Cousins then went to the Atlanta Falcons for two years before taking over in Las Vegas this season, with top pick Fernando Mendoza waiting to assume the starting job.Bringing in Cousins raises questions about why O’Connell and the Vikings gave up on McCarthy so quickly after drafting him 10th overall out of Michigan in 2024.McCarthy missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus in his right knee and was limited to just 10 games a year ago due to other injuries. Follow all of the latest NFL trade deadline updates, news and rumors on The Post’s live blog.He lost out to Murray for the starting job in training c...