The leverage of free agency in his prime brought Kirk Cousins the market-setting contract with Minnesota.
Now the Vikings have their latest franchise quarterback to try to secure that elusive first Super Bowl victory with.
The Vikings wrapped up their welcome party with an $84 million, three-year contract for Cousins on Thursday afternoon, banking big time on the late-blooming former Washington Redskins prospect to finally stabilize a critical position that’s been infamously problematic.
The money for Cousins is fully guaranteed, according to a person with knowledge of the deal speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the terms. That gives him the largest guarantee in NFL history, at least until the next mega quarterback contract comes along, according to figures tracked by the pro sports financial website spotrac.com.
Cousins toured the sparkling and still-under construction suburban headquarters, meeting with several members of the organization prior to an introductory news conference with team officials.
After arriving in Minnesota via private plane on Wednesday evening with his wife and infant son, Cousins dined at a downtown Minneapolis restaurant with general manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski, wide receiver Adam Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph among others.
For Thielen and Rudolph, Cousins will represent the fourth primary quarterback in as many seasons. As long as he stays healthy throughout the summer, Cousins will also represent the eighth starting quarterback for a season opener in the past nine years.
Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and Case Keenum all became free agents this week and signed with other teams, so the Vikings didn’t have much of a backup plan if Cousins balked at their offer.
But as a team with a star-laden defense and plenty of dynamic skill-position players on offense that reached the NFC championship game last season, the Vikings also represented quite the destination for Cousins.
Cousins started 57 games over his six seasons with Washington, which drafted him in the fourth round in 2012 behind second overall draft pick Robert Griffin III. RG3’s star faded quickly, though, and Cousins, who was lightly recruited out of Holland Christian High School before landing at Michigan State, worked his way up the depth chart. He topped 4,000 passing yards over each of the past three years, though the Redskins appeared in only one postseason game and his career record as a starter is just 26-30-1.
Rarely does a rising quarterback reach free agency before turning 30, though, so after playing for about $20 million in 2016 and about $24 million in 2017 on consecutive franchise tags with Washington, Cousins reached his opportunity to truly cash in after the Redskins acquired Alex Smith in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
###
Copyright © 2018
TTWN Media Networks LLC