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Can we stop the Kirk Cousins to the Jets talk, please?

The Vikings might indeed be done with quarterback Kirk Cousins, but they’re not done with him yet.

That nevertheless has not stopped many in the media (I won’t name names, because there are too many to name) from doing the low-hanging dot-connecting to the Jets.

Coincidentally, the Jets were the only other team pursuing Cousins when he became a free agent in 2018. But that does not mean they’ll be trying to trade for him now. Or that the Vikings would trade him. Or that Cousins would want to be traded to the Jets.

In an effort to end chatter (which likely won’t end because plenty of Jets fans are clinging to this pipe dream), here’s a list of the various reasons why it won’t happen.

1. The Vikings need Cousins.

Yes, they’re 0-3. They could be 3-0. They’ve been competitive in every game. They will still be, with Cousins.

Without Cousins, it’s Nick Mullens or Jaren Hall. That’s just too big of a drop.

While the Vikings are likely hoping to position themselves to get a franchise quarterback in the 2024 draft, they’re not inclined to launch a full-blown tank. They rarely are flat-out bad. The limits of Minnesota Nice would be tested and then some if the Vikings suddenly decided to fold the tents on 2023.

Despite his flaws (and there are some), the Vikings can’t let him go until they’re confident that they have a plan for replacing him. Currently, they don’t have a Plan B that the paying customers would or could get behind.

2. The Vikings would want too much for him.

If the Vikings keep losing and become inclined to give up on 2023 and to get something for a quarterback who is poised to walk away in March as a free agent, they would want more than something. They would want a lot.

In 2016, the Vikings lost Teddy Bridgewater for the year in late August. No one cut them a break in trade talks. The Eagles ultimately put a thumb on the scale for Sam Bradford, getting a first- and fourth-round pick.

This time around, the Vikings would want an offer they can’t refuse. And they would refuse pretty much every offer the Jets would make.

3. The Jets don’t have the draft capital.

The Jets already gave up plenty to get Aaron Rodgers. And they have two picks next year — a first-rounder and a second-rounder — basically sitting in escrow until the season ends and the condition for 2024 compensation becomes official.

Eventually, the Jets will get their first-round pick back. For now, they don’t have access to it.

At a minimum, they would have to re-do the trade with the Packers to release the first-round pick. Would the Packers do them a favor, or would they want a little something for their trouble?

Why wouldn’t the Packers ask for something more? The Jets are desperate. When a team is desperate, other teams don’t do favors. They pounce.

5. Aaron Rodgers could be ready to play in the postseason.

One of the least-discussed wrinkles in this obsession with the Jets finding someone/anyone other than Zach Wilson to play quarterback is that Rodgers has already dropped strong hints that he could be ready to go in the postseason.

So if the Jets go all in for someone like Cousins and it works and the Jets make the playoffs and Rodgers says, “I’m ready,” what happens?

If the Jets bench the guy who got them there for the guy who hasn’t played in four months, the Jets might not advance as far as they could. The Jets would be concerned that, if they don’t roll with Rodgers, perhaps he won’t be as enthusiastic about returning for another season.

6. Kirk Cousins has a no-trade clause.

This is the thing that never gets mentioned. Cousins has the ability to block any trade. He would have to want to go to the Jets. Why would he want that?

The Jets’ offensive line is worse than Minnesota’s. Cousins would have to learn a new offense on the fly. He’d have to uproot his family, or be away from them for the rest of the season.

He’d be subjecting himself to a fan base that would be far less forgiving about the whole “I don’t work on Tuesdays and I’m proud of it” thing.

Currently, Cousins is in position to have a strong statistical season and to get paid a lot of money (again) to join another team in March. What does he really gain from stepping into a place that will view him as the conquering hero, until they inevitably turn on him?

So it’s not happening. And it makes no sense to argue for it to happen. The Vikings don’t want it. The Jets can’t do it. And Cousins wouldn’t do it.