Writers predict Minnesota Vikings will lose out on Kirk Cousins

In a recent article on ESPN.com, eight ESPN NFL insider writers were asked who they thought would take the most snaps for the Vikings in 2018 and seven of eight answered Teddy Bridgewater or Case Keenum. Only one writer thought the Vikings would end up with Kirk Cousins.

The general thought from the writers is that the Vikings will be forced to bow out of the Cousins sweepstakes when the guaranteed money hits historic levels. They will then be turning their attention either Keenum, Bridgewater or both.

It is wise to take most reports this time of year with a grain of salt, as every coach, GM and team source are doing anything they can to keep their plans for the upcoming free agency period and draft a secret. This, however, is a collection of national and local Vikings beat writers, quality sources, telling us that they think Cousins will end up elsewhere in 2018.

Guaranteeing a potentially record-setting +$70 Million to a player will be a tough pill to swallow for a head coach who butters his bread on the defensive side of the ball. It’s hard to imagine Zimmer signing off on a deal that will seriously hinder his ability to resign the impact players he has developed on defense during his time here.

It is also possible that although they lost Pat Shurmur to New York’s Head Coaching vacancy, the Vikings believe they have the offensive coaches in place to squeeze productive seasons out of the more affordable, second and third tier quarterbacks. They did have a front row seat for the Nick Foles in the playoffs this year, perhaps the Vikings’ front office will give a lower offer (think Tom well-below-market-value-for-the-good-of-the-team Brady) and then quickly move on to the second tier when Cousins follows the money.

Next: Zimmer calls out one of his WRs

The Vikings might land Kirk Cousins this year in free agency, but will the money outweigh the possible alternatives?