Cliff wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:39 am
J. Kapp 11 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:24 am
I don’t make the quotes. I just post ‘em as I see ‘em.
Which team supposedly interested in Kirk is actually better?
Atlanta? They just finished 7-10 and fired their head coach.
Las Vegas? 8-9 and don’t know who their head coach will be.
New England? They’re a mess.
Pittsburgh? Better than the Vikings. Would they be interested at his price tag?
Who else is there? Maybe Seattle.
Kirk also says he doesn’t feel like he should have to sell himself.
Finally, anything he said in 2017 is completely out of context to his current situation. He was young then, coming off a franchise tag and staring at a second one by a team that treated him pretty poorly. He was answering about the money involved with a second tag, which was significant, and he said that the respect and the football were important to him. Not a surprising thing for a guy who feels disrespected to say.
I’m not advocating for Kirk to stay. I’m simply stating that it’s not out of the question that he would take less money to stay with the Vikings than he might be able to get on the open market. That’s it.
I'm not saying the team he'll go to is actually better. Just that he'll be able to
say he thinks they've got a better shot at winning. It's completely opinion based, he could say he thinks the Panthers are going to be the best team in the NFL next season because of such-and-such moves. He's left the door open to literally go to any team in the NFL lol
He doesn't have to sell himself for sure. The guy is the only QB worth a damn in all of free agency. Next down the line is Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett.
It's not out of the question, it's just not in character. At least to this point. Certainly I don't expect him to take significantly less for the sake of the team. If he does, the team might even sign him to a longer term deal and ride out whatever good football Kirk has left. I'd be for that as long as they draft a more highly rated prospective rookie QB too.
Everybody says it’s out of character for Cousins to do anything but whatever it takes to get paid the most. The clips of him and his agent pitting the Jets and Vikings against one another are pretty strong evidence, as are the extensions he’s signed here in Minnesota after the original guaranteed contract.
But I still tend to believe he’d take less to stay with the Vikings. Here are my reasons.
1. He’s got weapons
With JJ, Addison and Hockenson, he’s got as good a trio of playmakers around him as any team in the league. Would he have that in Atlanta? Pittsburgh? Las Vegas?
2. He’s got KOC
In 2023, he played for the same OC for the second year in a row. It was the first time in his 11-year career. Not only that, KOC’s offense is perfectly suited to his skill set. I know there are some who think KOC is a bad playcaller … those people are wrong. He’s an exceptional playcaller, with an offensive architecture that schemes receivers open brilliantly. Would I be happy if he dropped every trick play he ever conceived? Yes. Did I love the tush push? Heck no. But the guy can set up a team to move the ball. Kirk has to love that.
3. He’s (finally) got the love
Think about this. Kirk has always — from the time he was a kid — been sort of an odd duck. Never terribly popular, and never the super-stud athlete you’d imagine an NFL quarterback to be. He wasn’t highly recruited out of HS. A good but not great college quarterback who wasn’t thought that highly of by scouts. Drafted in the same year as RGIII, almost a slap in the face. Never embraced by any head coach he had in Washington. Franchise tagged twice. Never wanted by Mike Zimmer, and hated by Zimmer eventually. Made the scapegoat by fans in both Washington and Minnesota.
Then comes KOC and the Netflix documentary, and everything changes.
KOC loves Kirk. Understands him. Values him, but doesn’t coddle him. Gets the best play out of Kirk in his life. And this year, he’s beginning to develop an understanding of KOC’s offense that has him playing at a near-MVP level.
Even more amazingly, the fans turn in his favor. As Kirk has loosened up and let down his guard, fans have embraced him. He’s going on the Manning Cast and killing it. He’s ripping off his shirt, donning the chains, and blowing the Gjallarhorn while fans go nuts.
Maybe for the first time ever, Kirk feels embraced. Like he belongs.
That’s why I think he’d take a discount. Where else is he going to get all this?