Teddy Bridgewater and the QB domino effect
Before the trade deadline in early November, I was one of the first to project Zach Wilson as a first round pick. I also talked about a three way trade between Carolina, 49ers and the Vikings that would net the Vikings a second round pick for Cousins and open the door for Teddy Bridgewater to return to Minnesota. Yes, I was mocked then but my how things have changed over the last two months
Tankathon is currently projecting Zach Wilson at #9 to the Carolina Panthers and the Vikings just miss landing Trey Lance by one pick in the first round. The 49ers also are projected to miss out on a first round QB, so at pick 46, Kyle Trask is the projected pick for the 49ers,.. or they could trade that pick for a veteran QB like Matt Ryan, Mathew Stafford or Kirk Cousins. Kyle Shanahan needs to turn the 49ers fortunes around quickly, and I think he goes in the veteran direction.
If the Vikings trade Cousins for pick #46, could Teddy come back to Minnesota for a mere third or forth round pick?
Tim Weaver thinks a game manager like Teddy is not the answer in Carolina.
https://sports.yahoo.com/2-pff-stats-explain-teddy-143101526.html
@"supafreak84" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"supafreak84" said: Here is the deal with Cousins. He will be 33 years old next season. Unless there is another restructure or extension, he is basically under contract for one more season. None of his salary is guaranteed for the 2022 season and if the Vikings released him it would give them 35 million dollars in cap space. The smart move would be to draft our QBOTF this year, let them sit and learn for a season to be ready to go in 2022. I'm a big Trey Lance fan and to me that is someone that makes sense all the way around. But there is a clause in Kirk's contract which makes your statement about him in 2022 wrong: "2022 salary fully guarantees on the 3rd league day of 2021." So unless you cut him before the 2021 league season starts (April 17 2021), both his 2021 AND 2022 contracts are fully guaranteed. It's like a poison pill in his deal: we are either fully committed for the next 2 seasons or we cut him now.This means there is a chance we have seen the last Cousins pass as a Viking, if they sit him against Detroit. I expect Spielman wants to play him for the next 2 years, but the Wilfs may have a say in the matter.
I was unaware of that clause, that certainly muddles the waters even more. I wouldn't expect them to cut Cousins before the next league year but damn...that's a lot of money for a guy who isn't one of the top 10 QB's in the league
Yeah, it's a bit of "fine print" that was definitely not widely publicized when he was extended.
@"StickyBun" said: Honestly, Teddy isn't the answer anywhere. He's limited. If you are telling me I can only have either Cousins or Bridgewater, I'll take Cousins every time.
100% correct, we all loved Teddy, but he is not he Vikings messiah...
@"Jor-El" said:@"Carl Knowles" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"supafreak84" said: Here is the deal with Cousins. He will be 33 years old next season. Unless there is another restructure or extension, he is basically under contract for one more season. None of his salary is guaranteed for the 2022 season and if the Vikings released him it would give them 35 million dollars in cap space. The smart move would be to draft our QBOTF this year, let them sit and learn for a season to be ready to go in 2022. I'm a big Trey Lance fan and to me that is someone that makes sense all the way around. But there is a clause in Kirk's contract which makes your statement about him in 2022 wrong: "2022 salary fully guarantees on the 3rd league day of 2021." So unless you cut him before the 2021 league season starts (April 17 2021), both his 2021 AND 2022 contracts are fully guaranteed. It's like a poison pill in his deal: we are either fully committed for the next 2 seasons or we cut him now.This means there is a chance we have seen the last Cousins pass as a Viking, if they sit him against Detroit. I expect Spielman wants to play him for the next 2 years, but the Wilfs may have a say in the matter.
@Jor-El AGREE!
I believe his salary is 45M for 2022... (35M plus a 10M signing bonus). Crazy Big Money! That is a lot of money for a team that is struggling to even compete for a wild card. If they cut him this offseason... yes they eat a lot of guaranteed money over next season and a little in 2022, but the Vikings stop the bleeding with the Cousins spending spree.IMO a trade would be the better scenario for both Cousins and the Vikings.
Maybe so, but what other team (trading partner) would consider it a better scenario for them? I know the 49ers are mentioned frequently, but there are going to be other QBs available this offseason, including Stafford, Ryan, and Wentz. None of those contracts are small, but Stafford and Ryan are almost certainly seen as better veteran options, and Wentz has a lot more upside and future than Cousins. Guys like Andy Dalton may be on the market too, and is Cousins so much better?I just think we need to accept that we probably won't be saved by another team being willing to acquire the bad contract we gave Cousins.
The Falcons would have to eat more money than the Vikings if they traded Ryan.Stafford has less money coming due so that could be appealing to some teams.
Dalton could be an option for some teams.
Cousins still should be considered slightly better than these three though.
Any team that trades for Cousins would have to pay 21 and 35 mil or 28 mil per year.
They would have the option to restructure/extend his deal if he agreed.
Getting him just for the 21 mil gives them the option to try and trade him after just one season.
Now, there may not be another team wanting to pay 35 mil for one season of Cousins. But if the new team converted some of his 35 mil (10 mil) to a roster bonus then the new team only has to pay 25 mil for one season of Cousins.
If that new team has a rookie QB that they want to sit and learn it may not be a bad idea at all depending on the draft pick compensation.
The Vikings could also do this after Cousins 2022 salary becomes guaranteed.
Suppose they want to trade him and convert 10 mil to a roster bonus in the 2022 offseason.
They can still trade him and the other team would have to pay the remaining 25 mil in cash to Cousins while the Vikings have to eat 20 mil in dead money.
But they would save 25 mil in cap space.
Worst case is the Vikings manage the cap and just absorb Cousins 45 mil cap hit in 2022 and let him leave after.
There is no way they should extend him again when he will be 35 years old.
They would then have their own Matt Ryan situation.
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