Kissing Cousins: Minnesota Vikings Edition

With free agency beginning this week, should the Vikings pay for Kirk Cousins’ services this offseason?

As free agency officially begins on Wednesday, rumors are swirling about the Minnesota Vikings emptying their pockets for Washington Redskins starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, this offseason, who was let go after the Redskins traded for Chiefs starting quarterback, Alex Smith. If the rumors are true, Kirk could make upwards of $30 million per year.

There are many reasons the Minnesota Vikings will be in hot pursuit for his services this offseason. With many teams this offseason looking to upgrade at the starting quarterback spot, the Vikings may not be the only team clamoring at the bit to get his services. Teams like the New York Jets, the Denver Broncos, and the Arizona Cardinals are all rumored to be contenders for the quarterback’s services. As a fan, you have to ask is he even truly worth the amount he’s going to get paid this offseason? There are many positives and negatives that go along with signing Cpt. Kirk during free agency:

Positives

1. Had great numbers the last couple of seasons
Last season, Kirk Cousins was top 10 for a lot of the quarterback categories in the league. He threw for over 4,000 passing yards on the season, with 25+ touchdowns for the third season in the row in both categories.

2. Makes Vikings huge contenders for a Super Bowl
If the Vikings decide to go through with this deal, they are basically setting themselves up for a Super Bowl run for the next couple of seasons. With the addition of Kirk Cousins, he’ll be surrounded with a supply of talent on offense, which includes players like Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Kyle Rudolph. They’ll be scary contenders for years to come if they finish the deal with Kirk.

Negatives

1. Price tag might be too high for an unproven quarterback
While he does have a lot of success throwing the ball in the regular season, Kirk hasn’t seen much in the NFL in the postseason. Kirk has yet to win a playoff game in his career, which is very scary for the amount of money you’re paying him.

2. Still need to pay their top players
Stefon Diggs, Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, and Eric Kendricks will all need to get paid next offseason, and if the Vikings sign Kirk Cousins to a long-term deal, chances of locking all those players down will be downright difficult for them to do. They’d be lucky if they signed at least two of these players with Cousins’ cap hit.

3. The team made it far with a 3rd string quarterback
If you told me at the beginning of the season that the Vikings would be led to the NFC Championship game with Case Keenum as our starting quarterback, I would’ve called you crazy. With the success of the defense, alongside an explosive offense in 2017, the Vikings had an unimaginable year. If they make it that far without Kirk, who says they need to pay the price tag on Kirk to play for a Super Bowl.