Denver Broncos: 4 blockbuster QB trades the team could attempt

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Denver Broncos offseason, QB Kirk Cousins. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Denver Broncos 2021 blockbuster QB trade ideas

3. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (age: 32, 33 in August)

Although trading for Kirk Cousins might not thrill the fan base quite like some of the other possible moves the Denver Broncos could make, Cousins is a guy who has played pretty consistently good football over the last handful of years.

Prior to signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018, Cousins was the primary focus of the Denver Broncos’ offseason pursuits as he prepared to depart once and for all from the Washington Football Team.

Denver Broncos GM George Paton was obviously involved in bringing Cousins to Minnesota in what was, at the time, a pretty unprecedented and fully guaranteed contract.

The Vikings have since re-signed Cousins for a couple more years. At the age of 32, it’s clear that Cousins is what he is which is an above-average NFL starting quarterback and apparently those are not easy to come by.

What would it require to get a player like Cousins from the Vikings?

Broncos get:

QB Kirk Cousins
2021 1st-round pick (14th overall)
2021 4th-round pick (116th overall)

Vikings get:

QB Drew Lock
2021 1st-round pick (9th overall)
2021 2nd-round pick (40th overall)

Getting a little bit creative on this one, the Denver Broncos send their first- and second-round picks to the Vikings as well as quarterback Drew Lock in exchange for Cousins, the Vikings’ first-rounder, and a decent fourth-round pick.

This trade gets the Vikings back into the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft as well as pushing them into the top 10 picks in case they want to pursue a quarterback.

For the Broncos, you move down five spots from pick 9 to 14 in round one and from 40 to 116 to acquire Cousins.

With just two years left on his deal and the salary cap implications, the cost to acquire Cousins could get a little complicated but if a team is motivated to move a player, anything can happen.

This gives young offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak a player in Drew Lock to work with in Minnesota’s offense as well as the possibility for the Vikings to move on from Cousins’ contract and replenish their defense with better draft assets.

If Paton believes Cousins is a Super Bowl-caliber QB, he might as well try to bring him to Denver with all of the weapons the Broncos have.

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