NFL free agency kicked off with a bang today when the Vikings gave QB Kirk Cousins a 3 year, 84 million dollar contract, that is fully guaranteed.

You read that right.

I have to say, I was very stunned when I read this news. I do not believe, and this is not my Michigan Wolverines biased coming into play, that he is worth even half that money to be a starting QB in the NFL. What makes it even more shocking to me is that ALL of it is guaranteed. This means that he will get every single dime, no matter what may happen while he is in a Vikings uniform. He could get hurt in his first game, miss two plus seasons and still get all 84 million. He could demand a trade after a year and he still gets all 84 million. He could decide that he wants to retire after one season and he still gets all 84 million. The Vikings could decide to cut him if they don't go far enough in the playoffs and he still gets all 84 millions dollars. This is a truly unprecedented deal, the likes of which we have never seen. Props to whoever Cousins agent is, because they just made history.

This Kirk Cousin's contract is also going to set a very weird, and possibly franchise crippling direction for any "franchise" QB now. No other QB has a deal like this, but some that will be free agents soon will start to get fully guaranteed contracts. I know for a fact that Aaron Rodgers wasn't going to sign anything with Green Bay until the Cousins stuff got done. Now, he is going to want more than him, and he will want it all guaranteed. And what are the Packers going to do? Would they say no and go with Deshon Kizer or some late round rookie? No way. They are going to give him what he wants because he is a much, much, much better QB than Kirk Cousins. What will the Panthers do when Cam Newton's contract is up? Are they going to let him walk and pay a lesser QB? No way. He is going to get paid, and then some. How about teams like the Eagles and Rams that have Carson Wentz and Jared Goff on rookie contracts. What are they going to do when those deals are up? These kids will expect to get Kirk Cousins money, and I think that the Eagles and Rams will have to pony up to stay relevant. And Russell Wilson, what with the teardown going on in Seattle right now, the Seahawks will have to give him whatever he wants and they better damn well make sure it is fully guaranteed.

This deal is just so bizarre on so many levels to me. I mean, the Vikings made it all the way to the NFC title game last year with Case freaking Keenum. This is a team built on defense. Sure, people will remember that "Minnesota Miracle" against the Saints more than anything else. But, this current Vikings team won because they had one of the best defenses in all of football. They straight up shut teams down, wore them down and pulled away late. I don't think adding Kirk Cousins is the "missing piece" that this team needs. Hell, even though all three are free agents, they still had Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater. If they had stuck with any three of those guys I still think they would have been a contender. Again, I don't see Cousins pushing the needle for them in any sort of direction.

Quite honestly, I do not understand the love that has surrounded Kirk Cousins since he took over for Robert Griffin III a few years back. He has never won a playoff game. In fact, he has only been to the playoffs once, and my Packers crushed him and Washington in Washington. He seems to put up big numbers at the start of the year, but peter out when it gets to crunch time. He is way too hot headed and way too cocky for a guy that has not done anything of importance in the NFL. To me, he is a starting level QB, but I honestly believe that he is right in line, right now, with guys like Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and Ryan Tannehill. He is just good enough for people to talk about him for a few months, then when it comes to stretch run time, he chokes. I do not think that Kirk Cousins is a QB that can lead a team to, and win, a Super Bowl. I have never seen that in him as a QB. And again, he is a fine player, but how soon until diehard Vikings fans, RD I'm talking to you, are regretting this team making this decision. They are now stuck with him for three years, no matter what. They have put all their eggs into the Kirk Cousins basket. There is no going back now. He will expect to be the team leader, and that could screw up the locker room there. As I have stated many times, this team wins with defense and running the ball. They didn't need to go out and spend so much useless money on a mid tier, at best, QB.

I'm still scratching me head with this deal and with the media saying this now makes the Vikings instant Super Bowl contenders. Prove me wrong Kirk Cousins. But, up to this point in your career you have done absolutely nothing to warrant this type of deal from any team anywhere.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. To answer Ty's question, I was regretting the signing a week ago when it is being rumored. 

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