Kirk Cousins not only reset the bar as the highest-paid player in NFL history when he inked a three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, he also set a new precedent for veteran players by signing a fully guaranteed deal.
A contract of this magnitude -- one that also contains another $6 million in incentives that could elevate the total value to $90 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter -- was the focus of conversations with Cousins and his agent, Mike McCartney, for the past two and a half years.
While the deal is short-term in nature, it carries long-term importance in providing stability for the Vikings at the quarterback position and for the next chapter of Cousins' career.
"As (Vikings GM) Rick (Spielman) said yesterday, this is a lifetime deal," Cousins said. "That's the goal. This is a three-year deal but the expectation from both sides is we raise our kids here and then if everything goes as planned that I'd be here for a long, long time."
Make no mistake, my favorite NFL squad definitely upgraded the quarterback position. That's not to say last year's starter, Case Keenum, didn't have a very good season in 2017. He absolutely did. But one good season in what has thus far been a journeyman's career does not necessarily a franchise QB make. However, since Cousins became the Washington Redskins' full time starter at the beginning of the 2015 season, his per season averages consisted of 4,392 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a 67.0% completion percentage and a 97.5 QB rating. I'd be willing to bet there haven't been more than 3 or 4 NFL quarterbacks who have bested those numbers in the same 3-year span. What is left out of those numbers though is the Redskins were merely 24-23-1 in that time frame. But to say that's a reflection on Cousins' play is a stretch. Washington's defense was never better than 21st in total yards allowed in any of those three seasons, so that tells you how much of the burden Cousins had to bear. Given there's a top tier defense in Minnesota, that certainly had to be an enticement for him to don purple.
So does this mean the Vikings are the prohibitive favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in 10-1/2 months? Not quite yet. While their defense finished #1 overall in terms of yards allowed last year, they were definitely exposed over the final five quarters of their 2017 postseason run. The good news there is the Vikings organization is keenly aware of that, hence why former Seahawks DT Sheldon Richardson was in town this week for a free agent visit. Can you imagine a D-line with he and Linval Joseph clogging up the interior? That would certainly make DEs Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter that much more formidable.
Overall I like the Cousins signing not only because he is a talented player but also appears to be a solid citizen. I didn't get a sense that he's overwhelmed by the expectations heaped upon him despite being the highest paid QB in the league and being given the reins of a team on the brink of a Super Bowl berth. Since Daunte Culpepper blew out his knee in 2005, the Vikings have made multiple attempts to identify a franchise QB but have had little success. Whether it was long shots via the draft (Tarvaris Jackson in 2006; Christian Ponder in 2011) or bad luck (Teddy Bridgewater's horrific non-contact leg injury just prior to the 2016 season), the Vikings are looking to exorcise those demons by going all in on Cousins (who will turn 30 in August) fulfilling that role for the intermediate future. Here's hoping they get it right this time.
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The one thing I don't get about Cousins, who appears to be a smart guy as well as a genuinely good guy, is why he continues to play concussion ball when he's got enough money for several lifetimes at his standard of living. It's kinda like when Disney fired Michael Eisner back around 1997 for the then-unimaginable sum of something like $93 million, and everybody at the lunch table agreed that we'd be willing to quit our jobs for far less. There's something different about some people.... :^)
ReplyDeleteI've gotten to know Ben Utecht a little bit over the past 6+ years. He retired from the NFL in 2009 at age 28 due to concussion issues. To this day Ben is still adversely affected by them (eg. memory lapses, mood swings, etc.). However, when his former Colts teammate Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos in 2012 after being out of football for a year, Ben seriously contemplated his own comeback. He said there's just something about that level of competition and comradery that's almost as addictive as heroin. Many of these guys acknowledge playing in the NFL may shorten their lives in the long run but they also find it difficult to walk away from the game.
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