Hometown discount?
Is Kirk Cousins going to give the Minnesota Vikings a sweetheart deal so they can use the millions he would normally get on the open market on players who can support Cousins and help the Vikings contend for a championship?
That seemed to be the takeaway after Cousins spoke Monday following the conclusion of a 7-10 season in Minnesota, but former NFL star Jason McCourty interpreted Cousins’ words different than most.
First, let’s go back and see the words that spilled from Cousins’ mouth when he was asked if he’d be willing to give the Vikings a discount.
“I think God has blessed me financially beyond my wildest dreams, so at this stage in my career, the dollars are really not what it’s about,” Cousins said. “I had a coach who I was with, who was a younger coach at the time, this was back eight, nine years ago, before my first franchise tag, and we were talking about the situation and he made a great comment and he said, ‘Kirk, it’s not about the dollars, but it is about what the dollars represent.’ I thought that was an interesting comment that he made. There will always be some of that, but at today’s point, structure is probably more important.”
But the comment that really caught McCourty’s attention was Cousins saying “the league needs quarterbacks” and “if you are trying to talk yourself out of a quarterback, then I can’t help you much.”
“What he’s saying is, ‘I’ve been here all along. If you guys are talking yourself out of keeping me here, then the hell with it. It doesn’t matter what the contract looks like, what the money looks like, I’ll find a place somewhere because quarterbacks like myself are needed in this league,'” McCourty said Tuesday on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
“That was my biggest takeaway. I didn’t look at it as a hometown discount or anything, it was more about the value that they have in Kirk Cousins.”
Kirk Cousins talk.
Would the Vikings be in the playoffs if they had him this season? What's next? Vikings fans: you want to keep him? pic.twitter.com/lzTAjfBFmI
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) January 9, 2024
GMFB’s Peter Schrager agreed, taking it one step further by predicting that Cousins will play in 2024 on the biggest contract of his career.
“He’s not made the most money of his career. I think he’s going to get the biggest contract he’s had,” Schrager said. “When you see how Minnesota played without him on the field, totally missing the playoffs and having nothing at the end of the season, they missed him a lot. Guess what, the grass isn’t always greener. I would sign Kirk Cousins right now if I’m the Vikings.”
We are two days removed from the end of the regular season and the Cousins speculation is already at a fever pitch. It’s only going to intensify as the weeks move along and he comes closer to becoming a free agent in mid-March.
Buckle up, Vikings fans.
