{"id":88843,"date":"2024-02-05T01:15:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T01:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=88843"},"modified":"2024-02-05T01:15:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T01:15:47","slug":"vikings-qb-kirk-cousins-growing-impatient-with-lack-of-contract-talks-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/vikings-qb-kirk-cousins-growing-impatient-with-lack-of-contract-talks-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings QB Kirk Cousins Growing Impatient With Lack of Contract Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0is as ready as the team\u2019s fan base to figure out his playing future.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1699167389-1-e1695642431178.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The four-time Pro Bowler conducted an interview with Sky Sports NFL on Tuesday, January 30, in which he noted that he is anxious to begin negotiations with the Vikings and\/or whatever other teams might be interested in acquiring his services for the 2024 season and beyond.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;I would love to get those conversations going now&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Kirk Cousins says his future is unclear in Minnesota as free agency looms for the Vikings quarterback. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z5afKw4Lzl\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/Z5afKw4Lzl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sky Sports NFL (@SkySportsNFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SkySportsNFL\/status\/1752350122023776378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people who ask, including friends and family, are surprised to learn that the conversations really don\u2019t begin until March,\u201d\u00a0Cousins said. \u201cI would love to know where I\u2019m going. I would love to get those conversations going now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"CPT92s2Ck4QDFdNOwgUdbVMDBw\">\n<h2>Vikings Still Hold Significant Advantage in Attempt to Re-Sign QB Kirk Cousins<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-4588049 visible aligncenter\" style=\"font-size: 16px\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1756722542-e1698720971772.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins, Vikings\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4588049\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1756722542-e1698720971772.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4588049\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p>Cousins wasn\u2019t criticizing the Vikings or other prospective destinations, such as the\u00a0Atlanta Falcons, for not engaging with him up to this point. In fact, Atlanta would be\u00a0breaking league rules\u00a0by negotiating with Cousins in any manner ahead of March 11, which is two days before free agency officially begins on March 13.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota, however, is the one organization that can do a deal with Cousins now. The quarterback played for the team in 2023 on a one-year,\u00a0$35 million extension\u00a0he signed ahead of the 2022 campaign. That contract doesn\u2019t officially void until free agency opens, which means he remains a member of the Vikings roster.<\/p>\n<p>As such, the franchise can negotiate an extension with Cousins up until March 11 and beyond, while other teams are technically barred from doing so for approximately the next six weeks. That doesn\u2019t mean all other teams will follow the rules. In fact, it is well-known across all professional sports leagues that free agency rules often function as looser guidelines, with the real rule being to go ahead and tamper, just don\u2019t get caught.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>That said, Minnesota still holds a significant advantage in any attempt to re-sign Cousins as the incumbent franchise with several extra weeks of negotiation runway. That may also may mean, however, that if Cousins was sending a message with his comments last week, it was the Vikings organization to which he was speaking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just sitting at home, watching the playoffs,\u201d Cousins told Sky Sports. \u201cI don\u2019t have much going on except for rehab, but I really have to wait until the first couple weeks of March to be in those conversations. So that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re just waiting it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Kirk Cousins Will Cost Vikings Considerable Cap Space in 2024 Whether He Plays There or Not<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-4585267 visible aligncenter\" style=\"font-size: 16px\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1763359880-e1698617268778.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4585267\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1763359880-e1698617268778.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4585267\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p>The conundrum Minnesota faces at quarterback heading into the 2024 season is multilayered, and Cousins and his contract appear at several critical points throughout the discussion.<\/p>\n<p>To bring Cousins back, the Vikings are looking at upwards of\u00a0$90 million guaranteed\u00a0over two years, according to reporting done by\u00a0Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press\u00a0on January 29. Spotrac, meanwhile, projects Cousins\u2019 market value at\u00a0$39.3 million annually\u00a0over a new three-year deal ($118 million total), much of which Minnesota would probably need to fully guarantee.<\/p>\n<p>That much guaranteed money over that many years is an iffy prospect, at best, when considering Cousins will play next season at the age of 36 and is coming off an Achilles rupture in late October \u2014 by far the most significant injury of his 12-year NFL career.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond that, bringing Cousins back potentially robs the Vikings of their ability to find a young QB on a more reasonable contract whose long-term future aligns with all the youthful talent in the team\u2019s pass-catching corps \u2014 far and away its greatest roster strength.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>All that said, Minnesota will incur a $28.5 million dead cap hit in 2024 if they let Cousins\u2019 contract void, which is a crippling number when it comes to the Vikings\u2019 hopes of restocking the roster to immediately contend in a competitive NFC North Division.<\/p>\n<h2>Vikings Face Tough Choice Between Kirk Cousins, Rookie QB in Upcoming NFL Draft<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-4693710 visible aligncenter\" style=\"font-size: 16px\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1743222267-4-e1707011643586.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Minnesota Vikings\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4693710\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1743222267-4-e1707011643586.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4693710\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p>The Vikings were a little too good in 2023 despite Cousins\u2019 absence for the second half of the campaign, finishing 7-10. As a result, the team holds the\u00a0No. 11 overall pick. That means that to select one of the top QBs in April, Minnesota will probably have to mortgage its next couple of drafts and trade into the top three.<\/p>\n<p>Doing so might be the Vikings\u2019 best solution, as they could reasonably hope to sub out Cousins for a potentially generational rookie and replicate their offensive success from the last few seasons as early as Year 1. The difference in price would also mitigate Cousins\u2019 dead cap hit in 2024 and make the sport\u2019s most important position that much cheaper in Minnesota for the next four years.<\/p>\n<p>But should Minnesota make that call, it will hamper the franchise\u2019s ability to build up its defense and offensive line through the draft. That isn\u2019t likely to be a palatable solution for analytics-based general manager\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. A tentpole of his team-building philosophy relies on acquiring as much young and healthy talent playing on affordable contracts as possible, which the draft supplies better than any other avenue.<\/p>\n<p>The Vikings\u2019 other option is to select one of the second-tier QBs in a deep class at the position, either at No. 11 or after a trade down that nets them another pick or two. Doing so may still mean the end of Cousins\u2019 tenure in Minnesota due to all the guaranteed money he\u2019s seeking, though not necessarily.<\/p>\n<p>If the Vikings choose to keep Cousins and draft a QB in middle of the first round, it would the latest \u2014 and likely the most expensive \u2014 hedge in a long series of hedges at the position over the past two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Vikings\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Kirk Cousins\u00a0is as ready as the team\u2019s fan base to figure out his playing future. The four-time Pro Bowler conducted an interview with Sky Sports NFL&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}