Will the 49ers Trade for Kirk Cousins?
Here we go again.
It's that time of year when NFL insiders predict that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will trade for his former quarterback Kirk Cousins.
This time, it's Peter King. He recently proposed a three-way trade that would send Deshaun Watson to the Vikings, Kirk Cousins to the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo to the Texans. The 49ers also would send the Texans their first-round draft pick (No. 12) in the deal.
Which raises the following questions: Should the 49ers trade Garoppolo and the No. 12 pick for Cousins? And is Cousins even worth the 12th pick by itself?
I wouldn't trade the 12th pick for Cousins. Last year, the Colts traded the 13th pick for DeForest Buckner, and Buckner is an All Pro, one of the two best defensive tackles in the NFL. Can't the 49ers get an All Pro with the 12th pick? Someone better than Cousins?
Sure, Cousins would be an upgrade over Garoppolo -- any healthy starting quarterback would be an upgrade. But Cousins isn't a top-five quarterback in the NFL, or even a top-10 quarterback. He's an overpriced good quarterback. On the 49ers, he would be the worst starting quarterback in the NFC West. And the 49ers still would have horrendous pass protection.
Cousins won't fix the 49ers problems, and he won't lead them to a Super Bowl victory. So what's the point of trading for him? The 49ers simply would replace a quarterback who's liked by teammates with a quarterback who's disliked by teammates.
I wish I had more hands, so I could give King's trade proposal four thumbs down.
