03-11-2018, 03:14 PM
Former Redskins QBs say Kirk Cousins would be ideal fit for Vikings
Joe Theismann recently was sent a photo that showed him crouching down and speaking to a small boy wearing a Kirk Cousins No. 8 Washington Redskins jersey.He considered it the perfect image to accompany a goodbye message to a player he got to know well.
Theismann is a former Pro Bowl quarterback who 35 years ago led the Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XVII. Cousins is the team’s latest Pro Bowl quarterback, but he will be out the door soon.
Cousins will become a free agent Wednesday, and the Vikings are a very possible landing spot. But before negotiations can begin Monday during the legal tampering period, Theismann wanted to have his say.
“Check out the tweet I sent out,” Theismann said of his tweet last Tuesday alongside the photo. “I appreciated the friendship I had with Kirk and I wanted to wish him all the luck in the world.”
The tweet @Theismann7 reads, “Well, little Kirk, some day, you’ll grow up and QB the Redskins. Then you’ll play really well and become a free agent, then (at least for a short time) become the highest-paid QB in the league. Enjoy the ride.”
Theismann, who played for the Redskins from 1974-85 and is the team’s television analyst for preseason games, had hoped Cousins would stick around Washington. Since that won’t happen, Theismann believes Minnesota is the best destination for Cousins, who has thrown for 4,000 yards in each of the past three years and made the Pro Bowl following the 2016 season.
“I think he would be an excellent fit there,” Theismann said. “He’s going to get a lot of money wherever he goes, but I think what he wants to look at is the football team around him. When you look at the Minnesota Vikings as an overall team, they’re as close to having a shot at winning a Super Bowl championship as anybody, and I think performance at the quarterback position is essential, and Kirk brings everything to the table.”
Cousins is expected to command a contract worth about $30 million a year. And Minnesota, armed with more than $47 million of salary-cap room, might be willing to pay that. There has been plenty of speculation that Cousins will get a three-year deal worth $90 million with much of it guaranteed.
The Vikings finished 13-3 last season with Case Keenum at quarterback. But he struggled in the 38-7 loss at Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game, and that performance seemed to shake the Vikings’ confidence in him. Keenum is bound for free agency and could be a cheaper Vikings quarterback option by more than $10 million per year, but there are indications they prefer Cousins.
In addition to Theismann, a Pro Bowl selection in 1982 and 1983, the Pioneer Press spoke with four other former Redskins Pro Bowl quarterbacks: Brad Johnson (selected after the 1999 season), Jay Schroeder (1986) and Billy Kilmer (1972). All agreed Cousins would be an ideal fit for the Vikings.
“If Kirk goes there, I think he would give Minnesota what they want,” Johnson said. “He makes plays. He’s clutch.”
https://www.twincities.com/2018/03/09/fo...r-vikings/