Fire up the rumor mill on the Kirk Cousins front because Mike Florio of Pro NBC Sports has just supplied some tasty speculations about the veteran Minnesota Vikings quarterback potentially heading west to play for either the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers.

“At some point during the discussion from last Wednesday, I blurted out the possibility that, in March 2024, the 49ers and Rams will end up in a tug of war for Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, Florio wrote. “I know that, on the surface, it sounds crazy. But it could still happen.”

Florio laid out some pretty intriguing points, saying that the Vikings can't use the franchise tag on Kirk Cousins and that unless Minnesota signs him to an extension, he will become a free agent by next year. It can be remembered that the Vikings inked Cousins to a one-year deal worth $35 million before converting part of his salary, which can be taken as an indication that the signal-caller will be no extended any further by Minnesota.

In the event that he finally hits the free-agent market, Kirk Couins, Florio believes, is going to be a potential target by the 49ers, who have Brock Purdy expected to start for the team in the 2023 NFL season.

“So where will he go? In 2017, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t even evaluate Patrick Mahomes because Shanahan believed he’d be signing Cousins a year later. Since then, the 49ers have had a revolving door of quarterbacks, due in large part to none of them being able to stay healthy.”

As for the Rams, the team still has Matthew Stafford, but Los Angeles will still be wise to look for options beyond this coming season.

“After another year of Stafford holding his aging body together, while also potentially getting injured at some point during the 2023 season, coach Sean McVay — who like Shanahan worked with Cousins in D.C. — could decide to make a play for Cousins. Especially if McVay thinks Shanahan will finally try to get Cousins.”

Kirk Cousins has played for five seasons already for the Vikings, during which he amassed 20,934 passing yards and 153 touchdowns on a 67.8 percent completion rate.