02-11-2018, 11:08 PM
Hadn't seen this posted before...
Dozens of NFL quarterbacks have been represented by Leigh Steinberg, the one-time super-agent on whom the movie “Jerry Magure” is believed to have been based. Among them are Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Bledsoe, Kerry Collins, Warren Moon, Steve Bartkowski, Paxton Lynch, Jake Plummer, Kordell Stewart, Neil Lomax and nearly two dozen others.Steinberg, who has offices in Newport Beach, Calif., has represented eight No. 1 overall NFL draft picks among 62 first-round picks. He is in Minneapolis to host his exclusive 31st Super Bowl party and the big game on Sunday.
I asked Steinberg about the Vikings’ trio of free-agent QBs.
“The hardest position to fill in a quarterback-centric league is franchise quarterback,” he said. “It’s virtually impossible to make it through the playoffs and to the Super Bowl without someone who fits this definition.
“You win because of him. You can build a team around him for 10 to 12 years. And most importantly, in critical adversity, the fans are booing, you’ve thrown two interceptions, your center’s looking at you like you’re on hallucinogens — now what do you do?
“You elevate your level of play, adopt a quiet mind and compartmentalize so you then can pull the team on your back down the field. And that player is the critical player today in NFL football.”
So what the Vikings have to do, Steinberg said, is identify one player among free agents Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater — or someone else — to be that quarterback.
“There’s got to be a guy who you commit to, sign long-term and build the team around,” he said.
Do the Vikings have a quarterback among the three who’s worth committing to long-term?
“Bradford’s been injured so many times he’s never been able to make it through,” Steinberg said. “At one point, it looked like Teddy Bridgewater’s team. So you have to make an assessment what his physical status is.
“And Case Keenum, how old is he?”
Keenum is 29.
“So is Kirk Cousins,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg’s eyes light up when he talks about Cousins, who is leaving the Washington Redskins for free agency. Steinberg does not represent Cousins.
“He is the first free-agent quarterback at a young age to hit the market probably since Warren Moon did in 1984,” Steinberg said. “This is a complete anomaly. Starting quarterbacks do not become free agents — they are signed long-term by their teams. So because of the peculiarity that Washington didn’t sign him long-term, he’s available.”
The top of the NFL quarterback market right now is about $24 million a year.
“It would not surprise me if he averages closer to $30 million a year, with a huge guarantee,” Steinberg said.
That would be a NFL record contract. Would Steinberg try to sign Cousins if he were Vikings general manager Rick Spielman?
“You would make an assessment — you would have to look at Bridgewater’s and Bradford’s health, and Keenum, what you think their upside is,” he said. “This is where I’m confident Rick Spielman will be an astute judge of talent. This is a huge decision. And they get paid to make it right.”
Forget about free agent Drew Brees leaving New Orleans for the Vikings.
“I’m about 100 percent sure he stays,” Steinberg said. “Remember, this is not baseball. When a quarterback puts his roots down in a city, raises his kids, has chemistry with his teammates, the last thing in the world they want to do is jump around.”
Any guesses which way the Vikings will go for their 2018 starting quarterback?
“Cousins will be so highly in demand that he’s got to be a long shot for any individual team,” Steinberg said. “There are a series of teams — the New York Jets, Cleveland, Arizona — that need
quarterbacks right now. And then there’s that second group that have aging quarterbacks _ the New York Giants, New Orleans, San Diego.
“There are many franchises looking, and (Cousins) is an instant solution. I can’t remember when there was an in-his-prime starting quarterback on the market. And that bidding then doesn’t follow any rationale in what comparatives are — it’s just what the market will bear.”
Back to the Vikings. What will the Vikings do?
“They’ll pick one of those three from inside — Keenum, Bradford or Bridgewater — and sign him long-term,” Steinberg said. “They won 14 games with Keenum — that’s who he is. There was nothing wrong at all.”
https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/03/ch...berg-says/
Dozens of NFL quarterbacks have been represented by Leigh Steinberg, the one-time super-agent on whom the movie “Jerry Magure” is believed to have been based. Among them are Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Bledsoe, Kerry Collins, Warren Moon, Steve Bartkowski, Paxton Lynch, Jake Plummer, Kordell Stewart, Neil Lomax and nearly two dozen others.Steinberg, who has offices in Newport Beach, Calif., has represented eight No. 1 overall NFL draft picks among 62 first-round picks. He is in Minneapolis to host his exclusive 31st Super Bowl party and the big game on Sunday.
I asked Steinberg about the Vikings’ trio of free-agent QBs.
“The hardest position to fill in a quarterback-centric league is franchise quarterback,” he said. “It’s virtually impossible to make it through the playoffs and to the Super Bowl without someone who fits this definition.
“You win because of him. You can build a team around him for 10 to 12 years. And most importantly, in critical adversity, the fans are booing, you’ve thrown two interceptions, your center’s looking at you like you’re on hallucinogens — now what do you do?
“You elevate your level of play, adopt a quiet mind and compartmentalize so you then can pull the team on your back down the field. And that player is the critical player today in NFL football.”
So what the Vikings have to do, Steinberg said, is identify one player among free agents Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater — or someone else — to be that quarterback.
“There’s got to be a guy who you commit to, sign long-term and build the team around,” he said.
Do the Vikings have a quarterback among the three who’s worth committing to long-term?
“Bradford’s been injured so many times he’s never been able to make it through,” Steinberg said. “At one point, it looked like Teddy Bridgewater’s team. So you have to make an assessment what his physical status is.
“And Case Keenum, how old is he?”
Keenum is 29.
“So is Kirk Cousins,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg’s eyes light up when he talks about Cousins, who is leaving the Washington Redskins for free agency. Steinberg does not represent Cousins.
“He is the first free-agent quarterback at a young age to hit the market probably since Warren Moon did in 1984,” Steinberg said. “This is a complete anomaly. Starting quarterbacks do not become free agents — they are signed long-term by their teams. So because of the peculiarity that Washington didn’t sign him long-term, he’s available.”
The top of the NFL quarterback market right now is about $24 million a year.
“It would not surprise me if he averages closer to $30 million a year, with a huge guarantee,” Steinberg said.
That would be a NFL record contract. Would Steinberg try to sign Cousins if he were Vikings general manager Rick Spielman?
“You would make an assessment — you would have to look at Bridgewater’s and Bradford’s health, and Keenum, what you think their upside is,” he said. “This is where I’m confident Rick Spielman will be an astute judge of talent. This is a huge decision. And they get paid to make it right.”
Forget about free agent Drew Brees leaving New Orleans for the Vikings.
“I’m about 100 percent sure he stays,” Steinberg said. “Remember, this is not baseball. When a quarterback puts his roots down in a city, raises his kids, has chemistry with his teammates, the last thing in the world they want to do is jump around.”
Any guesses which way the Vikings will go for their 2018 starting quarterback?
“Cousins will be so highly in demand that he’s got to be a long shot for any individual team,” Steinberg said. “There are a series of teams — the New York Jets, Cleveland, Arizona — that need
quarterbacks right now. And then there’s that second group that have aging quarterbacks _ the New York Giants, New Orleans, San Diego.
“There are many franchises looking, and (Cousins) is an instant solution. I can’t remember when there was an in-his-prime starting quarterback on the market. And that bidding then doesn’t follow any rationale in what comparatives are — it’s just what the market will bear.”
Back to the Vikings. What will the Vikings do?
“They’ll pick one of those three from inside — Keenum, Bradford or Bridgewater — and sign him long-term,” Steinberg said. “They won 14 games with Keenum — that’s who he is. There was nothing wrong at all.”
https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/03/ch...berg-says/
It doesn't sound that by signing Cousins the Vikings are handicapped cap wise, so I think that can come off the table. 