Kevin SeifertESPN Staff Writer September 28, 2023, 3:24 PM ET3 minute read
Pat McAfee wouldn’t be surprised if Kirk Cousins was traded
Pat McAfee and his team discuss the possibility of Kirk Cousins being traded by the Minnesota Vikings.
EAGAN, Minn. – The bad news about the Minnesota Vikings’ season is obvious: They are one of four winless teams in the NFL. The good news, receiver Justin Jefferson said Thursday, is that there are far too many games left to draw any conclusions about the outcome of the season.
In fact, speaking to a group of reporters in the Vikings’ locker room, Jefferson said he was tired of hearing how their 0-3 start could affect 2024 plans and whether some players will or should be traded for draft prospects. Store picks.
“At the end of the day, it’s not going to be perfect every time,” said Jefferson, whose NFL-high 458 receiving yards is a league record for the first three weeks of a season. “There are things you have to go through over the course of the season to really say whether you’re going to be a great team or not. We struggled with adversity at the start of the season, with turnovers and a score of 0-3, but there it is.” There are still a number of games to come.
“I’m tired of people saying we’re worried about next season or all the trades and things like that. We are still focused on this season. We still have a lot more games to play and we still have a lot more to do. “We are still focused and still have the same goal as before the season. We just need to fix a few things and I feel like we’ll be back on the right track.”
The Vikings had an NFL-high nine turnovers and lost all three games by one point. Their overall point differential this season (minus-13) is better than that of 11 NFL teams, including two – the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders – that have a 2-1 record.
But the state of their “competitive rebuild” under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has sparked public discussion about the future of several key players. The possibility of trading quarterback Kirk Cousins, whose contract automatically expires in March, has been a frequent topic of conversation on ESPN’s “Get Up,” among others. However, Cousins has a full no-trade clause.
Linebacker Danielle Hunter is also in the final year of his contract. On social media, some fans have even suggested trading Jefferson — whom the Vikings have not yet signed to an extension of his rookie contract — to accumulate more draft picks.
Jefferson said he has trade discussions on the social platform