Mark Wilf: Vikings didn't fully guarantee first two years of Kirk Cousins offer
The Vikings wanted to keep quarterback Kirk Cousins. But how badly did they want it?
Two weeks later, the terms of Minnesota's final offer have not been reported. On Monday, Vikings owner Mark Wilf made a key disclosure about the structure of the deal.
Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, Wilf said that the Vikings did not fully guarantee the first two years of the contract. That would have made it a one-year deal, with a team-held option for 2025.
The Falcons, in contrast, offered Cousins $90 million fully guaranteed over the first two years of the deal, plus another $10 million that vests next March.
It's widely believed that keeping Cousins was Minnesota's Plan A, and that they now have moved onto Plan B (or C, or D). The truth could be that Plan A was and is to draft and develop a talented young quarterback under the tutelage of Kevin O'Connell, who already could be on track to becoming his generation's Andy Reid.
If the Vikings didn't include two fully-guaranteed years to Cousins, it's possible that they made him an offer they knew (or at least suspected) he'd refuse. The sweet spot would be to make a fair and respectful offer, and to hope that someone else will make a better offer. The Falcons obviously did.
The Vikings, not quite as obviously, might have been ready to move on from a quarterback who arrived in the aftermath of an NFC Championship appearance and who led the team to only one playoff win in six seasons. Whatever they wanted, that's what they got. In 30 days, we'll find out whether they get another quarterback in round one.
