Quote: @StickyBun said:
The key is a contract that works for Minnesota. I definitely get the vibe the organization will move on if he isn't reasonable.
Move on to what though?
There are no bridges in house, as we've seen. Paying an outside bridge $30M on top of $28M dead is not really an option. Handing the keys to the one of the best offenses in the NFL to a rookie QB without giving him a year to prove he's even capable of playing in the NFL is not really an option. As someone said earlier, for every Stroud, there are a dozen Bryce Youngs.
There really is only one option and that is re-signing Cousins and drafting his replacement in April. I would be shocked if the Vikings don't do both.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ StickyBun said:
The key is a contract that works for Minnesota. I definitely get the vibe the organization will move on if he isn't reasonable.
Move on to what though?
There are no bridges in house, as we've seen. Paying an outside bridge $30M on top of $28M dead is not really an option. Handing the keys to the one of the best offenses in the NFL to a rookie QB without giving him a year to prove he's even capable of playing in the NFL is not really an option. As someone said earlier, for every Stroud, there are a dozen Bryce Youngs.
There really is only one option and that is re-signing Cousins and drafting his replacement in April. I would be shocked if the Vikings don't do both. I wouldn't go so far as to say re-signing Kirk is the ONLY option but I agree it's probably the best one. But like you laid out, we have nothing in house. That's the problem, and not a small one. This franchise needs to get serious about finding a QB you can count on for a decade. It just does. I don't think re-signing Kirk and drafting his eventual/hopeful replacement with the intention of benching said kid for 2-3 years does much for us in the next 2-3 years. If we wanna keep KC, let's do it! But that signals you're trying to win now. So draft defense and try like hell to make the playoffs next year. But drafting a QB to sit for a few years does nothing to help that goal.
If the goal is to find that guy (which I think the goal should be), then just move on. Let Kirk go to Atlanta with Smart or Belichek or whoever and try to chase a ring while we build for the future. Trying to achieve both simultaneously only hinders both objectives.
Remember when GB drafted Love and the next season they fell a game short of the Super Bowl? Could a first round WR have put them over the top? Maybe. Love certainly didn't help at all and that was the talk at the time. Now they have Love, 3 years later, which is nice but they still probably (HOPEFULLY) aren't winning the SB this year. I could easily argue they should have forged ahead on one path or the other, instead of trying to tiptoe along both of them. I'd rather not see the Vikings do the same thing over the next 3 years.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ StickyBun said:
The key is a contract that works for Minnesota. I definitely get the vibe the organization will move on if he isn't reasonable.
Move on to what though?
There are no bridges in house, as we've seen. Paying an outside bridge $30M on top of $28M dead is not really an option. Handing the keys to the one of the best offenses in the NFL to a rookie QB without giving him a year to prove he's even capable of playing in the NFL is not really an option. As someone said earlier, for every Stroud, there are a dozen Bryce Youngs.
There really is only one option and that is re-signing Cousins and drafting his replacement in April. I would be shocked if the Vikings don't do both.
Not sure about that. I don't think the Vikings will resign him if his demands are higher than palatable. But I think they'll work it out, both sides are wanting it to happen. I think they both know this.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's just the usual corporate -speak that defines this organization. Talk a lot and say nothing. No one can pin down what they really think from this type of talk, though occasionally they inadvertently give away a clue in a sentence or via body language.
But in general, the utter meaninglessness of their press talks gives full throat to both sides of the fan arguments. "Oh they want Kirk Bad!". "Oh they are ready to move on from Kirk!". Etc, etc.
As far as I can tell, KAM/KOC have been giving us some variation of this same talk about Kirk since day one. The only real info is, he's coming off an achilles, he'll be 36, and they couldn't reach an agreement last year. I'd say barring some enormous offer prior to free agency (which makes no sense in light of the issues), he and his very capable agent will test the market.
And if nothing is resolved by the draft the team has a big decision. They are positioned to maybe get a franchise QB, but if that's the case there's no sense keeping Kirk. You want to play that kid right away when he's on cost control, and I can't see Kirk signing some bridge type deal.
Honestly, Kirk might see an opportunity to win a ring elsewhere and go for it. Imagine if Belichick takes over in Atlanta, which has talent but just needs a vet QB to make a win-now run before octogenarian owner Arthur Blank kicks the bucket. Kirk might make the Vikings decision for them.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's also an awkward statement in that he addresses him as "Kirk the player", as if he really doesn't care about him personally, whereas you get a different vibe when KOC talks about Kirk. He seems to be going a little too hard on the impersonal "I'm a big boy GM". Doesn't come off very genuine. It's obvious the deal has to work for both sides. Just say you're going to do everything you can to get him back, and leave it at that.
Quote: @mgobluevikes said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's also an awkward statement in that he addresses him as "Kirk the player", as if he really doesn't care about him personally, whereas you get a different vibe when KOC talks about Kirk. He seems to be going a little too hard on the impersonal "I'm a big boy GM". Doesn't come off very genuine. It's obvious the deal has to work for both sides. Just say you're going to do everything you can to get him back, and leave it at that.
I was a little confused by that as well. But I think "kirk the player" just means Kirk as a piece of our roster construction.
Quote: @comet52 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's just the usual corporate -speak that defines this organization. Talk a lot and say nothing. No one can pin down what they really think from this type of talk, though occasionally they inadvertently give away a clue in a sentence or via body language.
But in general, the utter meaninglessness of their press talks gives full throat to both sides of the fan arguments. "Oh they want Kirk Bad!". "Oh they are ready to move on from Kirk!". Etc, etc.
As far as I can tell, KAM/KOC have been giving us some variation of this same talk about Kirk since day one. The only real info is, he's coming off an achilles, he'll be 36, and they couldn't reach an agreement last year. I'd say barring some enormous offer prior to free agency (which makes no sense in light of the issues), he and his very capable agent will test the market.
And if nothing is resolved by the draft the team has a big decision. They are positioned to maybe get a franchise QB, but if that's the case there's no sense keeping Kirk. You want to play that kid right away when he's on cost control, and I can't see Kirk signing some bridge type deal.
Honestly, Kirk might see an opportunity to win a ring elsewhere and go for it. Imagine if Belichick takes over in Atlanta, which has talent but just needs a vet QB to make a win-now run before octogenarian owner Arthur Blank kicks the bucket. Kirk might make the Vikings decision for them.
The fact that they couldn't reach an agreement last year is tempered by the fact that the situation was different: Cousins was still under contract. IOW, there was no urgency, especially considering Kwesi likely knew at the time that they were willing to move heaven and earth to move up to draft his replacement. Why give Cousins guarantees through 2025 if you've got a QB ready to start in 2024?
If that plan had worked, and the player we drafted looked good, we would be free of Cousins money right now. I think it's pretty clear that the appeal of THAT played a big part in pausing the contract talks.
People would have been going apeshit if he was under contract and then injured
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ comet52 said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's just the usual corporate -speak that defines this organization. Talk a lot and say nothing. No one can pin down what they really think from this type of talk, though occasionally they inadvertently give away a clue in a sentence or via body language.
But in general, the utter meaninglessness of their press talks gives full throat to both sides of the fan arguments. "Oh they want Kirk Bad!". "Oh they are ready to move on from Kirk!". Etc, etc.
As far as I can tell, KAM/KOC have been giving us some variation of this same talk about Kirk since day one. The only real info is, he's coming off an achilles, he'll be 36, and they couldn't reach an agreement last year. I'd say barring some enormous offer prior to free agency (which makes no sense in light of the issues), he and his very capable agent will test the market.
And if nothing is resolved by the draft the team has a big decision. They are positioned to maybe get a franchise QB, but if that's the case there's no sense keeping Kirk. You want to play that kid right away when he's on cost control, and I can't see Kirk signing some bridge type deal.
Honestly, Kirk might see an opportunity to win a ring elsewhere and go for it. Imagine if Belichick takes over in Atlanta, which has talent but just needs a vet QB to make a win-now run before octogenarian owner Arthur Blank kicks the bucket. Kirk might make the Vikings decision for them.
The fact that they couldn't reach an agreement last year is tempered by the fact that the situation was different: Cousins was still under contract. IOW, there was no urgency, especially considering Kwesi likely knew at the time that they were willing to move heaven and earth to move up to draft his replacement. Why give Cousins guarantees through 2025 if you've got a QB ready to start in 2024?
If that plan had worked, and the player we drafted looked good, we would be free of Cousins money right now. I think it's pretty clear that the appeal of THAT played a big part in pausing the contract talks.
Well I should add that they couldn't reach an agreement and word was it pissed off Kirk. Take that however you wish.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
@ mgobluevikes said:
@ MaroonBells said:
Something interesting in the full quote. He was obviously asked if he wanted Cousins back. His response sounds a little defensive to me.
"Yeah. I think I've been pretty consistent with that," Adofo-Mensah said. "Kirk the player is somebody that, as we saw what he does to this team, I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it's the most important position in sports. Now ultimately it always comes down to can you find an agreement that works for both sides and all those things, but as a player, it's certainly my intention to have him back here."
It's also an awkward statement in that he addresses him as "Kirk the player", as if he really doesn't care about him personally, whereas you get a different vibe when KOC talks about Kirk. He seems to be going a little too hard on the impersonal "I'm a big boy GM". Doesn't come off very genuine. It's obvious the deal has to work for both sides. Just say you're going to do everything you can to get him back, and leave it at that.
I was a little confused by that as well. But I think "kirk the player" just means Kirk as a piece of our roster construction.
It's impersonal for a reason imo and that reason is not some personality deficit of Kwesi as is suggested above. He is simply not going to give away anything that Kirk's camp can use in negotiations.
Also it's possible the team's plans aren't as wedded to Kirk as people think and he is just subtly quelling expectations. Ditching Kirk is just speculation on my part, before anyone does the usual peeing of the pants about it. :p
|
