I'm not looking into the contract too deep until I see what Bryzinski attempts to do with that $45 million number.S197 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 05, 2020 1:29 pmI'd probably put Brees in the top tier, granted he's on the decline but he's still extremely productive. And I get your point, due to the importance of the position, QB's are always going to get big contracts that seem ridiculous at signing. But Cousins is next level. Lets take a look at contracts by their largest cap number:psjordan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 04, 2020 6:37 pm
Overall I'd love to have a "better" QB situation on our team, but I really think "competent and above" QB's and their agents by far have the upper hand nowadays. "Extended too early with a sweetheart deal" is definitely not outside the norm from a typical NFL team's fans perspective.
I just think almost every NFL team has to live with bull@!#$ contracts for their QB. Very, very few starting, veteran QB contracts have been "team friendly" in the last 10 years outside of the Brady years in NE.
Forgetting rookie contracts, I think there's only two groups of QB's out there, and one group is mighty small. Mahomes and Rogers, maybe one could argue Rothlisberger/Wilson - have contracts that seem like "we can't pay this guy enough" to their fan bases. I feel like you are chiding Rick because we don't have a QB in this group, which is exceptionally talented and exceptionally small.
The other group of QBs, Cousins/Goff/Wentz/Brees/Bridgewater/Tannehill/Ryan/Garoppollo/Stafford/Carr etc., and even TB Brady, all seem like "sweetheart deals" to me (IOW seemingly paid too much vs production) and I'd guess most of their fan base feels the same. I mean Stafford has a $135M contract $92M guaranteed, and has never won a playoff game, but we constantly paintball Spielman for our QB situation?
I just think it's the market for guys who can play QB well enough to start in the NFL. You HAVE to extend them with "too much" money and "too much" guaranteed.
As fans we just have to hold our noses on what our QB is making. Just like about 28 other teams. IMO anyways.
Kirk Cousins: $45 million
Matt Stafford: $33 million
Goff: $34.6 million
Wentz: $34.6 million
Bridgewater: $26 million
Tannehill: $34 million
Ryan: $41.6 million
Garoppolo: $27 million
Carr: $22.1 million
Stafford has been bleeding the Lions for a long time now. And they're not exactly the franchise I think the Vikings want to emulate. Matt Ryan did a number of restructurings to help with their cap situation but his contract is still obviously weighing them down. Another franchise I don't think should be emulated. And keep in mind Cousins' extension came on the heels of a 3-year 100% fully guaranteed no-trade contract. Something that has never happened in the NFL before.
Not even guys like Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers are going to make over $40 million. We're literally paying our QB like he's Patrick Mahomes. And here's the other thing, not all of those contracts above are guaranteed like Cousins' contract will. Not effectively two years before they start. The only other team that's somewhat in a similar situation is the Falcons with Ryan and they're a 4-win team because of it. Now, you could argue that the Vikings don't pay Cousins $45 million, they could do ANOTHER extension and lower the cap that year. But as I mentioned in a previous post, guaranteed money means just that, it's guaranteed. You can push it around but at the end of the day, you need to pay it eventually. And it's not like Cousins is going to sign a $20M APY contract going forward when he knows he's due $40M. There's a reason he signs short 3-year contracts, it's so he can double and triple dip. And of course that would mean the Vikings would be tied to him even longer.
Think about it from an optionality standpoint. Lets say we were to draft Lawrence/Fields/Lance or anyone else next year. This is the options Rick has left the team. You can cut Cousins and he'll play for another team. And the Vikings will be paying him $31 million to play for someone else. Plus another $10 million cap hit in 2022. Or, you can let the rookie learn under Cousins for a year and then have Cousins hold a clipboard in 2022. And the Vikings will pay Cousins $45 million to hold a clipboard. That's it, those are the only two options I'm supposed to be okay our GM came up with because remember his $45M is guaranteed BEFORE next year starts. Not before 2022, the beginning of the 2021 NFL year. So basically what I'm saying is the odds we draft anyone and/or move on from Cousins is effectively zero. He could throw 3 picks a game until the end of the season and what are we going to do about it?
The only way Rick comes out of this looking good is if Cousins continues to play like he has over the last 5-games. He's yet to show he can do that but it's the only outcome I can think of where we're not in 2022 and everyone is saying why the #### are we paying this guy $45 million?
However, look at the QBs you listed above and their highest cap number. No I'm not saying Kirk deserves $45 million. But also look at the ones below him that you have listed. How many of those QBs could you honestly tell me are BETTER QBs than Kirk Cousins??
-Stafford has been a bigger loser than Cousins
-Goff has turned into a train wreck since their SB year
-Wentz is on the verge of being benched for Hurts
-Teddy showed just last week what I've been saying for years now. He's nothing more than a game manager.
-Tannehill has actually played much better than I expected this year so maybe him?
-Ryan has also turned into a shell of himself since their choke job in the SB
-Jimmy G is vastly overrated and I've said that before on here. Guys think Cousins craps his pants under pressure, Garappolo makes Cousins look calm, cool and collected.
-Derek Carr I've always been a fan of but he's continued to underwhelm.
I'm not saying Cousins is millions of dollars better than all these guys, but your list is pretty poor. Not a single one of them carry a whole ton of weight. Out of 8 QBs that you listed, I'd probably take Cousins over at least 7 out of 8 of them. 6 out of 8 at the absolute lowest. Again, I cant see Cousins making $45 million when the time comes. I think something will be done by that point. But either way, I'm not putting much into it until I see what happens.