Kirk Cousins wanted three years, Vikings turned him down

[IIsweet]

Report: Kirk Cousins wanted three years, Vikings turned him down
Story by Jonathan Harrison • Yesterday 10:28 PM

The Vikings are keeping their options open at quarterback

With his contract coming down to the final year, Kirk Cousins asked the Vikings for three more years and guaranteed money – and the Vikings turned him down, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune.

"The sense I've gotten is that they didn't want to commit as long as what he was looking for. They wanted something shorter, he wanted something longer. My understanding is that 2025 was the issue," said Goessling on the latest Access Vikings podcast. "The question of how long would everyone guarantee it for. I think he wanted '25, they were like 'well, we don't want to commit that long.' He'd be 37 before the 2025 season so it gets to be later in the game than you want to fully guarantee a quarterback deal."

Instead of giving Cousins three more guaranteed years, the Vikings opted to restructure his deal by converting part of his base salary into a bonus, which trimmed about $16 million from Cousins' 2023 cap hit. The conversion comes with the possibility of a $28 million dead cap hit in 2024 if Cousins is not on the roster.

"They are at least willing to look at the possibility of 'Do we go to a bridge starter? Do we go to a younger quarterback,'" continued Goessling. "They're willing to look at their options in conjunction with Kirk Cousins rather than just committing to him for the next three or four years."

Podcast co-host Andrew Krammer followed up saying her heard Cousins "wasn't asking for $40 million." That's significant because it's the price the New York Giants paid to extend Daniel Jones.

Jones signed a four-year, $160 million deal this offseason with the Giants. Jones's cap hit in 2023 is $21 million before jumping to $45 million in '24, $39.5 million in '25, and $56 million in '26, according to Over The Cap.

"Cousins's camp was surprised, from what I heard, at the Vikings not jumping, or not accepting more of what they were asking for," said Krammer.

According to Over The Cap, the Vikings are just $552,868 under the cap (at the time this story was published0.

[StumpHunter]

Taking less fully guaranteed money per year than Jones, 4 year AAV that only has 82 million guaranteed is not offering a discount over Jones unless Cousins was willing to take 30 million per year or less over the next 3 years. It could be he just wanted 36 or even 39 million per year fully guaranteed and his agent is calling that a discount. In that case, Cousins would likely make more money in those three seasons than Jones will, and unlike with Jones, the Vikings wouldn't have the option to move on after year 2 on the extension.

It is nice and all that the Vikings aren't allowing Kirk to bend them over for a 4th time in a row, but this is far from over. Despite acknowledging the fact Kirk isn't the answer with this decision to not go all in on him once again, the Vikings have proven to be unwilling to do what it takes to actually draft their QBOTF under the current ownership. Kirk will have another season where he isn't good enough to elevate the team, isn't bad enough to get benched, and the Vikings will cave in fear once again and might give him an extension next March.

There is also the question of why the Vikings don't just trade Kirk if they are unwilling to come to an agreement with him to help them get the ammo they need to find that QBOTF. Either no team is offering anything of value or again, the Vikings are too scared to do what it takes to actually improve that spot.

[CharVike]

This is the complete opposite of what Cousins himself said. He wanted one year at a time. This time of the year all kinds of things are thrown around. IMO I don't care who the QB is if they keep going with the same old OL they will get the same old result. Those results last year weren't very good.The team has shown zero interest is improving the OL play. If you look at the NFC teams that have been to the SB the last 10 years there isn't much in common with the QBs. It's all over the board. One thing I did notice was they all had very good OL play. Here we sit with Ingram still the starter. He's not a very good player. Could he improve? Sure. But I wouldn't bank on it. It took Bradbury how many seasons to improve and I wouldn't call him a top level player at this point. The Rams are giving their team away. We should grab at least 1 and probably 2 of there Gs so that we have some competition. That improves players. That's SB level players. They need to have something in mind beyond 2023. I wouldn't draft a kid and throw him behind this OL. He'll see ghost rushers up the gut after a few games. Shell shocked. Just sign some stiff cast off and cycle through them. That's were we are headed at this point. It worked for the Eagles and Foles/Wentz combo so maybe the next stiff is the way to go. Cousins is in the swan song year. Hopefully they beef up this OL. The clock is ticking.

[IIsweet]

Man Char, I agree and disagree with you, you could be very right though and I see with rose glasses.
Definitely the OL has to improve to be a SB contending team. However, last year was Chris Kuper's 1st year as the new OL coach. I am sure that he has a lot of input on what is going on. Ingram was a rookie who was immediately better than what he had on the roster at RG, that included veterans. That says a lot. Now will he get better, of course, he was a rookie. Give him a full offseason. A year of Viking weight training and let's see how he does this year before writing off a kid straight out of college.
I do however completely agree with you about Bradbury, he sucks, but let's consider this.... what are our options? There was not really a better option out there. I and many would love to draft John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota, but what if someone else does? Our options were very limited and when looking at the contract he got, it is easy to walk away from after 1 year. So, I expect a Center to be drafted next month. I also am hoping for a big OG to replace Ezra to be drafted as well.
But.... it depends on what Kuper sees and what KOC sees.
I expect we stick with Ingram, draft a Center and a guard this year with the expectation that they develop into starters next year. I could also envision us signing FA OL next offseason as we target a rookie QB in the 2024 draft, or land one this year.

[CharVike]

Man Char, I agree and disagree with you.
Definitely the OL has to improve to be a SB contending team. However, last year was Chris Kuper's 1st year as the new OL coach. I am sure that he has a lot of input on what is going on. Ingram was a rookie who was immediately better than what he had on the roster at RG, that included veterans. That says a lot. Now will he get better, of course, he was a rookie. Give him a full offseason. A year of Viking weight training and let's see how he does this year before writing off a kid straight out of college.
I do however completely agree with you about Bradbury, he sucks, but let's consider this.... what are our options? There was not really a better option out there. I and many would love to draft John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota, but what if someone else does? Our options were very limited and when looking at the contract he got, it is easy to walk away from after 1 year. So, I expect a Center to be drafted next month. I also am hoping for a big OG to replace Ezra to be drafted as well.
But.... it depends on what Kuper sees and what KOC sees.
I expect we stick with Ingram, draft a Center and a guard this year with the expectation that they develop into starters next year. I could also envision us signing FA OL next offseason as we target a rookie QB in the 2024 draft, or land one this year.

That's ok if you disagree. We all have opinions. We are just arm chair GMs. I prefer a monster OL that can move people. Like our Dixon/Stringer right side under Denny. I like Ingram's size although another 20-30 pounds would be better. But obviously we are sticking with the same group. I was hoping for a shake up.

[IIsweet]

Now I agree with that 100%...
I want to get rid of Bradbury and Ezra and replace with behemoths on the interior.
Give me JMS, Avila, Tippman, Patterson, Stromberg, or Olawatami at Center in this draft and either O'Cyrus, Avila, Zavala, or Vorhees at Guard. The Center position is really pretty deep in this draft.

[CharVike]

Taking less fully guaranteed money per year than Jones, 4 year AAV that only has 82 million guaranteed is not offering a discount over Jones unless Cousins was willing to take 30 million per year or less over the next 3 years. It could be he just wanted 36 or even 39 million per year fully guaranteed and his agent is calling that a discount. In that case, Cousins would likely make more money in those three seasons than Jones will, and unlike with Jones, the Vikings wouldn't have the option to move on after year 2 on the extension.

It is nice and all that the Vikings aren't allowing Kirk to bend them over for a 4th time in a row, but this is far from over. Despite acknowledging the fact Kirk isn't the answer with this decision to not go all in on him once again, the Vikings have proven to be unwilling to do what it takes to actually draft their QBOTF under the current ownership. Kirk will have another season where he isn't good enough to elevate the team, isn't bad enough to get benched, and the Vikings will cave in fear once again and might give him an extension next March.

There is also the question of why the Vikings don't just trade Kirk if they are unwilling to come to an agreement with him to help them get the ammo they need to find that QBOTF. Either no team is offering anything of value or again, the Vikings are too scared to do what it takes to actually improve that spot.

Jones blows. He has thrown over 20 TDs once in his career. Last year 15. If I was GM I would have said see ya stiff. 15 TDs this year is a joke. The Vikings don't trade Kirk because they put that stupid no trade clause in. Our current GM isn't the smartest GM alive. Kirk wants to stay in the mid west. Stick it to him. Or he can retire or find another team. Who ever heard of that no trade ####. Kirk never bent us over. We bent over by ourselves. Just tell him to get lost. It's not that hard. This elevating a team is nonsense. We had one of the worst defenses I have ever seen us have, a terrible injury riddled OL and we still won 13 games and won the division. It took the whole team playing together. It wasn't one guy because it never is. We missed our chance when M Jones the national champion winning QB fell in our laps and Speilman said no thanks he sucks. He would be in the wings right now. Currently we have nothing on deck and a vet playing a swan song season. A team can't be any dumber than that.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I think this is smart. Given his age and the direction we want to go in, I think this is the route to go. I also think it's smart holding onto him this year. Sure you could probably trade him and get some compensation but I think it's even more important letting a rookie sit behind him for a year and learn.

In terms of what we have for draft picks, I think the Vikings are going into the draft thinking they have more than 5 picks. What I mean by that is factoring Dalvin and Zadarius as picks or chess pieces. Last year you saw Marquise Brown and AJ Brown both get traded during round 1. Could they offer pick 23 and Dalvin or Zadarius to move up in round 1? Entirely possible. I would at least explore it.

If I had to guess, we're going to move up for Levis somehow. I know some are high on him and others arent. I've been talking him up for over a year now. I think he's going to be a stud. He has a lot of the same issues Josh Allen had coming out and both are similar QBs.

[CharVike]

Now I agree with that 100%...
I want to get rid of Bradbury and Ezra and replace with behemoths on the interior.
Give me JMS, Avila, Tippman, Patterson, Stromberg, or Olawatami at Center in this draft and either O'Cyrus, Avila, Zavala, or Vorhees at Guard. The Center position is really pretty deep in this draft.

O'Cyrus is the guy I want. But there are others also. This draft is deep with inside guys. We need that so we better get some.

[Cliff]

I just want to see they have some kind of plan beyond Cousins. The last regime often didn't really start to address QB until the offseason where we would need a new one.

[VikingLord]

I just want to see they have some kind of plan beyond Cousins. The last regime often didn't really start to address QB until the offseason where we would need a new one.

I think this news indicates they must have that plan in place. If they believed that Cousins could get them where they want to go and they just needed to fill in the team around him I would think they'd surely lock him in. The fact the Vikings are unwilling to do that might mean that KAM and KOC do not believe Cousins is worth anchoring their futures to and that tells me they must be eyeing a replacement.

Given how they're jettisoning many of the old stalwarts of the Zimmer era, I suspect this coming season is going to be about positioning themselves for the 2024 draft and offseason more than any strong push to compete in 2023. They can't admit that outright, of course, and there is always the chance the Vikings might enjoy another Cinderella season where a lot breaks their way, but it seems far more likely they're getting ready to remake the team in their image, including, or maybe even especially, at QB.

The bigger question now becomes is Cousins on the trade block? I know he has a no-trade clause in his contract but now that he knows the Vikings have no interest in a longer-term deal he might be open to a trade. He's going to make his money no matter where he plays at this point while the Vikings might acquire some additional draft capital that allows them to go after his replacement if they think he's in this year's draft class.

I am glad the Vikings have recognized that the prior plan they inherited has run its course and it's time to generally move on. It might take another season or even two seasons to get there, but if KAM and KOC are going to build a team for the longer term there is no better time to get started on that than right now.

[J. Kapp 11]

I think this is smart. Given his age and the direction we want to go in, I think this is the route to go. I also think it's smart holding onto him this year. Sure you could probably trade him and get some compensation but I think it's even more important letting a rookie sit behind him for a year and learn.

In terms of what we have for draft picks, I think the Vikings are going into the draft thinking they have more than 5 picks. What I mean by that is factoring Dalvin and Zadarius as picks or chess pieces. Last year you saw Marquise Brown and AJ Brown both get traded during round 1. Could they offer pick 23 and Dalvin or Zadarius to move up in round 1? Entirely possible. I would at least explore it.

If I had to guess, we're going to move up for Levis somehow. I know some are high on him and others arent. I've been talking him up for over a year now. I think he's going to be a stud. He has a lot of the same issues Josh Allen had coming out and both are similar QBs.

What really sucks is that the Vikings previous administration AND this administration allowed Cousins to poop all over them in previous contracts. Money kept getting pushed out into the future. They were stuck restructuring him this year in order to get cap compliant and have any money for free agents. Pushing money into 2024 means they're in dead-cap hell next year with Cousins even if they trade him. The good news is that after 2024, the Kirk Cousins era (cap-wise) is officially over.

That being said, at his age, it's time to look forward. Is Levis the guy? Don't know. Some of the knocks on him are the same as the knocks on Kirk when he came out — has no idea where the rush is coming from and doesn't feel it.

[Lash Man]

Three years at what price ? knowing Cousins probably 39.9 Mill per year 100% guaranteed with a no trade clause Thats the Hometown Discount which is ALWAYS a raise for the best negotiator in NFL history .

[CharVike]

Three years at what price ? knowing Cousins probably 39.9 Mill per year 100% guaranteed with a no trade clause Thats the Hometown Discount which is ALWAYS a raise for the best negotiator in NFL history .

I wouldn't call Cousins the best negotiator. Nick Foles signed a monster deal with the Jags and played one season. He earned 30.1 million had an 0-4 record threw 2 TDs and 2 Ints and 736 yards passing and then lost the job to some other bum. That's a master negotiator. 30 million for 4 games. Couldn't even hold the job and just sat there collecting while watching. That's easy money. No beatings or hits. There's plenty others out there. Don't give the title to Cousins. Keep Foles in mind we might be in a similar situation next year. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Back on the QB trolley taking the slow ride to nowhere.

[StumpHunter]

Three years at what price ? knowing Cousins probably 39.9 Mill per year 100% guaranteed with a no trade clause Thats the Hometown Discount which is ALWAYS a raise for the best negotiator in NFL history .

I wouldn't call Cousins the best negotiator. Nick Foles signed a monster deal with the Jags and played one season. He earned 30.1 million had an 0-4 record threw 2 TDs and 2 Ints and 736 yards passing and then lost the job to some other bum. That's a master negotiator. 30 million for 4 games. Couldn't even hold the job and just sat there collecting while watching. That's easy money. No beatings or hits. There's plenty others out there. Don't give the title to Cousins. Keep Foles in mind we might be in a similar situation next year. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Back on the QB trolley taking the slow ride to nowhere.

All Foles did was win the SB to earn that big payday. What a joke!