Vikings Reportedly Won't Give Kirk Cousins a Fully Guaranteed Deal
Back in 2018, the Vikings' Rick Spielman-Mike Zimmer regime signed Kirk Cousins to a three-year, fully-guaranteed deal to be their quarterback. Six years later, Cousins is once again the top QB on the free agent market. But this time around, it sounds like the Vikings' current Kevin O'Connell-Kwesi Adofo-Mensah regime isn't willing to give Cousins a contract with full guarantees.
"The current Minnesota brass, now going into its third season, really likes Cousins, but it’s also been made clear that they’re not going to go contractually where the previous regime did twice, and give Cousins a fully guaranteed deal," writes SI's Albert Breer.
Thus, Cousins will likely hit the market and test out his options when his deal voids next month. The Vikings will be a potential suitor, depending on the price. There will also be plenty of other teams — the Falcons, Raiders, and Steelers seemingly among them — who will be interested. Even with Cousins coming off an Achilles injury and turning 36 in August, there may be a team willing to give him significant financial guarantees to pry him away from Minnesota.
If there's an offer on the table for $45 million per year with quite a bit of guaranteed money, the Vikings will probably lose Cousins. Because it doesn't sound like they're going to be willing to make or match that offer. Then again, who knows what's going to happen?
"For what it’s worth, the Vikings did touch base with Cousins’ camp last week, as they got their pre-combine meetings going," Breer wrote. "So the lines of communication are open. More clarity could come in Indianapolis next week."
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