The affection Kyle Shanahan has for Kirk Cousins is anything but a secret. Since working together in Washington, Shanahan has made attempts to reunite, most notably at the start of his tenure in 2017.
The 49ers elected not to draft a quarterback in their first offseason (when Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were drafted), with eyes towards a run at Cousins.
Cousins, though, was franchise-tagged by Washington in 2017 before signing a three-year, $84 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings and the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo during that first year.
Despite all that time, might they still be pining to reunite? Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks so. He also thinks the Rams will be interested.
He said the following on the Rich Eisen Show:
I think you’re going to see — unless the Vikings re-sign him by then, and they can’t use the franchise tag on him the way his contract is structured — you’re going to see a potential tug of war between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay for Kirk Cousins next March. Mark that down.
The 49ers’ current roster contains a fairly cheap and intriguing group of QBs in Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
Darnold signed on a one-year, $5.71 million deal this offseason, but Purdy is signed on his rookie contract through the 2026 season. Lance has another year and $10.85 million remaining, with his fifth-year option undecided and unlikely, at this point, to be picked up.