Minnsota Was Right Not To Match Atlanta’s Offer
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Falcons have shown with their move to give Kirk Cousins four years and $180 million that they believe they are one piece away from winning a Super Bowl, and that piece is a quarterback. For that exact same reason, the Minnesota Vikings were right to not match Atlanta’s offer because they are more than one piece away from hoisting their first Lombardi Trophy.
Contract Breakdown
The Falcons offered a contract they knew would break the bank for most teams, and it’s probably even more than they needed to spend to get the deal done. Cousin’s $180 million dollar deal includes $100 million in guarantees, and $90 million of that is getting paid out to him in 2024. The cap number for 2024 is $ 25 million and $40 million for next season. If the Falcons were to cut him after the season, the team would have to eat a cap hit of $65 million.
Why Was it Right to Not Match the Falcons Offer?
The Vikings only need isn’t at the quarterback position, and although they would have still had some cap space this season to sign players, the long-term play is really the bigger concern. The Vikings at some point are going to have to move on from Kirk Cousins, and the 2024 quarterback draft class is one of the best in recent memory. With $65 million in dead cap for next season, the Vikings wouldn’t be able to cut him. $40 million is also way too much money to pay a backup quarterback, which means Cousins would have started in 2025. This is a perfect year to take a quarterback in the first round, and sitting behind Cousins for two years or maybe more wouldn’t be the ideal situation.
Another reason the right move was to let Cousins walk is because of the Achilles injury. Cousins isn’t a young spring chicken anymore, and the older a player gets, the harder to recover fully from an injury like he suffered. There is no guarantee that Cousins can come back at 100 percent, and no guarantee he is going to play well enough in 2023 to deserve to start in 2024. If the Vikings would have given Cousins $45 million to play in 2024, that would be one thing, but having so much tied up long-term on a major question like an Achilles, it’s just too big of a risk.
The Vikings might take a step back with whoever is the quarterback in 2024, and there could be some growing pains, especially if it’s someone like Drake Maye or JJ McCarthy, but it will be at an affordable price. If that quarterback doesn’t work out, the Vikings can move on, and try again at a cheaper price. We will never know what would happen with Cousins at quarterback, but one thing I do know, his contract is something that could have set back a franchise that has already had so many setbacks for another decade.
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