Keeping Dobbs and Cousins???
Could the Vikings keep Kirk Cousins and Joshua Dobbs?
Following the season-ending Achilles injury to quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings made a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for Joshua Dobbs, a deal that has already paid significant dividends. Dobbs’ performance has prompted a debate, even in these pages, that the Vikings are going to have a decision to make between Cousins and Dobbs at the end of the season.
But what if the Vikings don’t want to make a decision? What if they decide there’s room on the roster for both Cousins and Dobbs? One site has suggested that it’s a possibility. . .actually, more than just a possibility, as they’re predicting that it’s going to happen.
Spotrac, a site that is dedicated to the contract side of the various sports leagues, has an article up projecting the next contracts for both Cousins and Dobbs (and Jared Goff, but who cares). In that article, they make it clear that they think the Vikings will re-sign both Cousins and Dobbs during the 2024 offseason.
First, they project the Vikings to sign Cousins to a 3-year, $120 million deal with $80 million guaranteed. That would probably be Cousins’ last big NFL contract, as he would be 39 by the time it was over with and probably ready to hang it up. On top of that, they rightly point out that Cousins would likely accept such a deal because of the nature of the injury he suffered.
That brings us to Dobbs, who Spotrac says the Vikings can re-sign for a two-year, $18 million price with $9 million guaranteed. That would make Dobbs the highest-paid backup quarterback in the league. It would also commit the Vikings to about $50 million/year at the quarterback position, assuming that Jaren Hall would stay around as the third-string quarterback.
While this would be an ideal situation for the Vikings in that it would give them both a quality starter and a backup that you know can actually win football games for you, I’m not sure how realistic it’s going to be a couple of months from now. If Dobbs keeps this up, his price tag is going to (rightly) continue to climb, and some team is likely going to roll the dice on him to be a starter. After all, if you remember back to the 2018 offseason, Case Keenum got a two-year, $36 million deal from Denver to be their starter.
Of course, he’s now on his fifth team in the six seasons since he left Minnesota, but the larger point is that he parlayed a great season as a backup into a hefty payday and made it pretty clear he wasn’t going to settle for a backup role. And if Dobbs keeps up at the rate he has in his first two games in Minnesota, he probably won’t, either.
https://www.dailynorseman.com/2023/11/15/23963285/could-minnesota-vikings-keep-kirk-cousins-joshua-dobbs
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
lol, nope. You have to love the 24/7 sports news cycle, especially for fringe sites like the Daily Norseman. Anything goes. Clicks and views.
I expect JD to come to earth soon, whether he craters or glides in will determine how contracts will go. Best case Dobbs plays well enough to be the bridge QB in 24, freeing up caps space. Worst case is keeping both, a potential QBOF won't sit on the practice squad. If KC , JH and JD are on the roster there will be no room for high draft pick.
Not going to happen. If they resign Cousins, Dobbs will collect a big paycheck elsewhere. Vikings have to sign Jefferson and Darrisaw to big contracts as well. Signing both QB's will kick the can further down the road.
Nobody knows what is going to happen. I don't see Dobbs as the starter, but it appears the team has positioned itself to move away from Cousins soon.
One thing they might want to do is offer Flores a boatload of money to stay.
It's really too early to call that one. The Josh Dobbs sample size in Minnesota is only 1 3/4 games. The national story is a great one. I'd love to have this conversation at the end of February, when we have a bigger sample size to evaluate. There's also the Cousins recovery progress to evaluate.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Dobbs takes us deep into the playoffs this season. The narrative and writing on the wall would change significantly. Rather than paying Cousins $40mm/year and hoping for a crapshoot in the draft, what if we could re-sign Dobbs for say $20-25mm/year, and apply difference to the rest of the roster? Wouldn't that give us more flexibility to re-sign some of our studs?
If (and I admit that it is a huge IF), Dobbs doesn't have the anticipated meltdown the rest of this season, what would you rather have? A 29 year old starter who was given a real chance with a solid NFL team and proved himself? Or a lower first to third round college QB crapshoot taken in the draft? Or a 36 year old QB who regardless of performance, is nearing the end of his shelf life.
I'm a Kirk fan, but looking at Dobbs' mobility has me realizing Cousins' limitations. I'm trying to be objective here, and frankly, Kwesi not extending Cousins in the off-season may prove to be a strategically wise move. The rest of the story has not been written yet.
The ONLY way this happens is if Dobbs craters and we sign him anyways, as a dirt-cheap backup to Kirk for like $6M/yr. Obviously none of us want that to happen.
If Dobbs plays well enough to earn a starting job then he'll go to a team where he can-- y'know-- start. Whether that's here or not, we'll see. But so many teams need new starting QBs there's no way a good one signs a deal to be a backup.
It's a fun thought, because the Vikings could assemble a much scarier version of what NOLA tries to have...and have Dobbs already in place when Cousins wanders off to spend all his Kohls Cash...but, I don't know if the office, the money, the system, and the egos all line up.
A 3 year deal for a quarterback in his late 30's coming off an achilles injury and 80 million guaranteed sounds like they better think twice about that. Kirk may come back and be just like he was never injured but it could also be that at his age and the hits he has taken, this last injury may just be the start of his decline. If he does come back healthy this injury may make him give up on plays in the pocket instead of standing in the there and taking hits.
@"Greylock" said: A 3 year deal for a quarterback in his late 30's coming off an achilles injury and 80 million guaranteed sounds like they better think twice about that. Kirk may come back and be just like he was never injured but it could also be that at his age and the hits he has taken, this last injury may just be the start of his decline. If he does come back healthy this injury may make him give up on plays in the pocket instead of standing in the there and taking hits.This would be my fear. Love Kirko, but that's a huge risk, all things considered..
@"supafreak84" said:He will be 36 years old before the season starts next year. So.....@"Greylock" said: A 3 year deal for a quarterback in his late 30's coming off an achilles injury and 80 million guaranteed sounds like they better think twice about that. Kirk may come back and be just like he was never injured but it could also be that at his age and the hits he has taken, this last injury may just be the start of his decline. If he does come back healthy this injury may make him give up on plays in the pocket instead of standing in the there and taking hits. This would be my fear. Love Kirko, but that's a huge risk, all things considered..
@"Montana Tom" said: It's really too early to call that one. The Josh Dobbs sample size in Minnesota is only 1 3/4 games. The national story is a great one. I'd love to have this conversation at the end of February, when we have a bigger sample size to evaluate. There's also the Cousins recovery progress to evaluate.Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Dobbs takes us deep into the playoffs this season. The narrative and writing on the wall would change significantly. Rather than paying Cousins $40mm/year and hoping for a crapshoot in the draft, what if we could re-sign Dobbs for say $20-25mm/year, and apply difference to the rest of the roster? Wouldn't that give us more flexibility to re-sign some of our studs?
If (and I admit that it is a huge IF), Dobbs doesn't have the anticipated meltdown the rest of this season, what would you rather have? A 29 year old starter who was given a real chance with a solid NFL team and proved himself? Or a lower first to third round college QB crapshoot taken in the draft? Or a 36 year old QB who regardless of performance, is nearing the end of his shelf life.
I'm a Kirk fan, but looking at Dobbs' mobility has me realizing Cousins' limitations. I'm trying to be objective here, and frankly, Kwesi not extending Cousins in the off-season may prove to be a strategically wise move. The rest of the story has not been written yet.
Pretty much sums up my thoughts as well, Tom. I think we'll know if Dobbs is for real or not by the end of the season. There's plenty of time to get this figured out, but it's awesome that we don't feel like the season is a total loss now that Kirk is out. Dobbs may bomb out the rest of the way, and Hall will be inserted; who knows? I do think if the Vikes let Kirk walk, it's because they're very comfortable with his replacement. No way does KOC go into next season without a decent starting QB.
yeah...no. Sorry you cant commit to Kirk that way. He was willing to play for 40 million if they did a deal prior to this year IIRC, why would he get the same money now that he is injured and a year older? If somebody wants to pay him that, fine, let him go with best wishes, but no way I do it for that without escalators that get him to that level, as well as scrapping the guaranteed money and any other handcuff things agents like to put in.
@"Greylock" said: A 3 year deal for a quarterback in his late 30's coming off an achilles injury and 80 million guaranteed sounds like they better think twice about that. Kirk may come back and be just like he was never injured but it could also be that at his age and the hits he has taken, this last injury may just be the start of his decline. If he does come back healthy this injury may make him give up on plays in the pocket instead of standing in the there and taking hits.There is a 6% chance he will rupture the other achilles. While 6% may seem like a small probability, it is significantly higher than someone who has not suffered an achilles rupture. Bare in mind this comes from a study with a relatively small sample size.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14723785/#:~:text=the%20expected%20rate%20based%20on,contralateral%20tendon%20rupture%2C%20as%20well.
That’s the most improbable take possible. We weren’t going to commit to Cousins for 3 years
a handful of months ago, and then he got injured. And $40M, I don’t think was really on the
table at all. Seeing Cousins get unquestionable
starter money for at least 2 years, and having started all season, why would
Dobbs resign with us as a backup? I
think the only 2 scenarios where this happens is if Dobbs gets a season ending
injury that lasts until mid next year or he turns into a pumpkin and is bad
enough that no amount of cost difference between him and Cousins is worth it. If Dobbs is performing at an NFL starting QB
level, and is willing to take $20M per year for 2 years, I don’t think there’s
much Cousins can do about the situation.
I just can’t see a scenario where Dobbs and the Vikings hold steady, get
to the playoffs and isn’t rewarded with a Keenum/Bridgewater 2018 level contract
by some team.
@"JimmyinSD" said: ...and any other handcuff things agents like to put in.Could be interesting since Cousins and Dobbs share the same agent.
@"DeepFreeze05" said:excellent point!@"JimmyinSD" said: ...and any other handcuff things agents like to put in. Could be interesting since Cousins and Dobbs share the same agent.
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