Chase Daniel predicts Vikings will trade for Kirk Cousins; timing this summer?

If the Minnesota Vikings reunite with Kirk Cousins, the most likely timing, according to NFL insider Dianna Russini, would be after the draft, perhaps well into the summer.

"The Kirk Cousins trade to Minnesota situation, to me, if it were to happen, that would be more of a later in the year, after the team sees (J.J. McCarthy)," Russini reasoned on Scoop City. "The door is not shut on any veteran quarterback available. That's the final line on that. It's, 'We need to see J.J. McCarthy, we want this to work, we will assess come training camp, maybe even sooner depending on what happens in the spring.'"

Her reasoning came after she explained her earlier report that the "Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Minnesota Vikings have all had conversations with the Atlanta Falcons about a possible trade for Kirk Cousins,' though she noted that Minnesota is the least likely of the bunch to swing a deal with Atlanta.

"That, to me, is the least likely scenario because this organization is all in on J.J. McCarthy. They are so excited about him," Russini said. "They are expecting a really good spring, and I don't necessarily believe that the Vikings think that they need a player of Kirk Cousins' caliber on this roster. They just need a sufficient backup to come in."

She then used some logic over hardcore reporting to speculate that Minnesota could make a trade on Day 3 of the draft for a backup quarterback She named Aidan O'Connell of the Raiders and Sam Howell of the Commanders as logical fits.

Russini has maintained her belief that Minnesota needs to see more from McCarthy this spring before fully shutting the door on veterans like Aaron Rodgers and Cousins.

"What if J.J. doesn't feel well in the spring? What if the knee is a problem? What are you going to do? You can't just say, 'Well, we'll stick with the guy and hope for the best.' No, you're going to try to bring in a guy to win. This is a Super Bowl-winning caliber type team," she said. "We'll see how that shakes out."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this week that Atlanta wants a trade partner to pay $20 million of the remaining guaranteed money on Cousins' contract. He named the Steelers and Vikings as possible trade partners willing to pay $10 million.

Near the end of the Scoop City episode, former NFL quarterback and co-host Chase Daniel predicted that Cousins gets traded to the Vikings.

"I think Kirk Cousins gets traded to the Minnesota Vikings," Daniel said. "The Vikings have sort of put themselves in a little bit of a hole because you're entrusting your entire plans, your 14-win season, your excellent roster which you made better in free agency, to a rookie quarterback who hasn't played a game that's not healthy. I just don't know if that's smart."