- The big NFL news on Sunday was QB Tom Brady announcing that he is "un-retiring" from the NFL and returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Literally minutes later, my favorite NFL club had a significant announcement of its own regarding their quarterback.
The 2022 season will be Kirk Cousins' fifth as the Vikings' quarterback. He's got a new contract that could keep him around for a sixth season, too.
For the second time in three years, the Vikings agreed to a new deal with Cousins to lower the quarterback's salary cap figure while giving him a raise. The Vikings and Cousins' agent Mike McCartney announced the deal is a one-year extension, which puts the quarterback under contract with the Vikings through the 2023 season.
"Kirk was one of the first players I called when I joined the Vikings [in January], and it was immediately clear how much he cares about this organization and about winning," general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement. "High-level quarterback play is a prerequisite to building a championship team, and we are confident Kirk will continue along that path."
Given Cousins' inflated salary combined with the fact Aaron Rodgers announced he was returning to the Vikes' division rival Green Bay Packers, it made sense for the Vikings to listen to trade offers for their quarterback. Given the QB market was scarce, there was a good chance some decent draft capital could've been sent the club's way in addition to creating significantly more salary cap space to reload the team. So in 2-3 years when Rodgers is likely gone from Green Bay, the Vikings would be in prime position to not only take over the NFC North but also make a deep playoff run with a retooled roster as well as a young franchise QB they (hopefully) drafted in either 2022 or 2023. But that's not the path they chose.
I will at least give Adofo-Mensah and new head coach Kevin O'Connell this much: tying your new jobs to a QB who puts up nice stats but only wins half of his games is pretty ballsy. This means that the new regime has to be nearly perfect in their upcoming free agency signings and draft choices. No pressure there.
- Dang, it sure is nice for the NBA to be relevant again in the Twin Cities. And it's even more satisfying to see the Minnesota Timberwolves' best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, continue to have monster games, but in a playoff push.
On Monday evening against the San Antonio Spurs, Towns set a franchise record with 60 points, including a ridiculous 32 in the third quarter alone. After reflecting upon his performance, Towns tweeted these sentiments Tuesday morning.
Yesterday was two years to the date that my parents walked into the ER at JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ and were admitted with COVID-19. The same hospital that my mother gave me life, and tragically, the same hospital where I saw her life begin to slip away
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) March 15, 2022
I say this to say…no matter what life throws at you, you can come out of it stronger. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Miss you Momma. This game….my life…is for you ❤️🕊
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) March 15, 2022
With the Wolves having five losing seasons in Towns' first six years in the league, it's nice to see KAT having the opportunity to enjoy a fun (and, more importantly, winning) season while he maintains that steady demeanor.
- On Saturday, my Minnesota Twins traded catcher Mitch Garver (decent glove, but a really good bat) for Texas Rangers SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa. OK, fine. The Twins had some depth at catcher but needed solid shortstop play. Kiner-Falefa seemed to fit the bill.
Then on Sunday, the Twins sent their 2021 first round draft pick Chase Petty to the Cincinnati Reds for veteran starting pitcher (and two-time All Star) Sonny Gray. Excellent! The Twins are showing us they're looking to win now. Keep it going!
Then later on Sunday, they flipped their newly acquired SS Kiner-Falefa, catcher Ben Rortvedt and veteran 3B Josh Donaldson to the New York Yankees for IF Gio Urshela and C Gary Sanchez. OK, now I'm confused. In a little more than 24 hours, the Twins brass downgraded the catcher position (Garver is a better defensive catcher than Sanchez while a comparable hitter; the trade of Rortvedt depleted catching depth) as well as the left side of their infield. And when it was announced that the Yanks would take on the remaining $50 million of Donaldson's salary, I was back to questioning whether the Twins were truly going for it in 2022. At that moment I pictured the Twins' war room looking like Charlie Kelly explaining a government conspiracy.
The narrative now is the Twins are looking to dump salary in an effort to make a pitch to free agent SS (and two-time All Star) Trevor Story while placing Urshela at third. There are also reports the Twins are looking to add another starting pitcher.
I'm hoping the brain trust of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine make it make sense before too long.
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