NFL Rumors: Wild Cowboys-Bears trade, Vikings shocking QB bridge, Mac Jones stunner
NFL Rumors: Vikings could be priced out of Kirk Cousins, turn to Russell Wilson
While we know that teams like the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and even the Chicago Bears will determine much of the NFL Draft's market at quarterback, the Minnesota Vikings might be the most intriguing team to watch as it pertains to the most important position on the field.
Kirk Cousins' contract has expired with the Vikings, which will make him a free agent this offseason. Running it back would seem to make sense, but the word in Minnesota appears to be that they will move on and hit a reset. But why is that the best option and what would that mean for the club in the 2024 season?
Vikings insider Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press recently broke down two key aspects of the team's quarterback plans this offseason. The first of which is that the projected Cousins contract is likely to push Minnesota completely out of play to re-sign him based on their current cap constraints.
"The buzz now is that it will take $90 million guaranteed for two years, despite that he’s still not yet fully recovered from Achilles surgery in November, to sign free agent QB Kirk Cousins. If that’s the case, he certainly won’t get that from the Vikings."
Where would Minnesota turn if that was the case? Walters also answered that while leaving the door open that the Vikings could draft a long-term hopeful replacement but floating a possible bridge option that would be quite the shock: Russell Wilson.
"It’s not far-fetched that the Vikings would consider, for financial reasons, Russell Wilson as their bridge QB next season if they draft a QB with their No. 11 pick in April. The Broncos are expected to cut Wilson, 35, who if he’s on the roster next March, his 2025 salary of $37 million becomes guaranteed. His $37 million deal for next season already is guaranteed by Denver.
"But if the Vikings are interested in Wilson, his 2024 contract has a salary off-set, meaning he would cost only the NFL veteran minimum of $1.2 million with incentives. The Broncos would owe the rest."
The Vikings could do far worse than Wilson as a stopgap option to give a rookie quarterback time, and Walters makes quite a compelling case regarding the financial situation of that as well. Thus, perhaps this is more in play than we're giving it credit.
There is also the possibility that Minnesota could risk it all to trade up from the No. 11 pick to try and get into the Top 3 for one of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, which may make a stopgap with a brand like Wilson's harder to justify. But in any case, the Vikings have plenty of doors that they could look behind at QB this offseason, but Cousins doesn't seem to be behind any of them.