Vikings To Host Kirk Cousins
The Vikings will be the first team to meet with free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins, and are in the “driver’s seat” to sign him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Minnesota has offered Cousins a three-year deal with a $28MM annual salary, per Rapoport.
Cousins will meet with the Vikings brass and have dinner on Wednesday night, tweets Rapoport. On Thursday, he’ll take a tour of the Vikings’ brand new facility. Given that his visit in Minnesota is expected to last until Thursday, other teams with interest in Cousins may not get a seat at the table until later this week.
The Vikings have long been considered a prime contender to land Cousins, and their need for a quarterback only increased this morning when Case Keenum reportedly agreed to a deal with the Broncos. Incumbent options Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford are also unrestricted free agents.
Cousins, meanwhile, has drawn interest from clubs such as the Jets, Cardinals, and Broncos, but some reports indicated New York and Minnesota were his only serious suitors. Denver, clearly, is no longer in the running after inking Keenum, and while the Jets boast far more cap space than the Vikings, Minnesota can offer a better team and offensive weapons.
While a $28MM annual salary would make Cousins the highest-paid player in NFL history, it would be a somewhat disappointing total, as most expected Cousins to collect $30MM per year. Of course, we don’t any details about the structure or guarantees of Minnesota’s offer, so it’s possible the potential deal is stronger than the yearly average would indicate.
Vikings Interested In CB Bryce Callahan
The Vikings are among the teams interested in Bears restricted free agent cornerback Bryce Callahan, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). The Bears used the lowest tender on Callahan, which grants them only the right of first refusal without draft compensation. 
Callahan would provide the Vikings with another option at nickel corner. As it stands, Mackensie Alexander is their only nickel corner with experience. Through two seasons, he has not quite lived up to expectations.
Last year, Callahan graded out as the No. 31 cornerback in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He also gave the Vikings an up-close look at what he can do when he returned a punt for a touchdown and deflected two passes against the Vikings in 2017.
Goessling points out that some other options on the market at nickel corner include Rams free agent Nickell Robey-Coleman and Jaguars free agent Aaron Colvin. Goessling also noted that the Vikings had shown interest in Robey-Coleman, 26, last offseason. Terence Newman and Marcus Sherels make up the members of the Vikings cornerbacks set to become free agents.
Latest On Vikings’ Joe Berger, Tom Johnson
While the Vikings have interest in re-signing offensive lineman Joe Berger, at least three other teams are also eyeing the veteran guard/center, tweets Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Meanwhile, Minnesota is also open to reunion with defensive tackle Tom Johnson, but he’s expected to first test the market, reports Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link).
Berger will be 36 years old when the 2018 campaign gets underway, but he’s still an effective player. Capable of playing guard or center, Berger ranks as PFR’s No. 8 interior lineman heading into free agency. Berger had previously indicated that he’d likely retire following the 2017 season, but he’s since walked that back.
Like Berger, Johnson has long since reached veteran status, as he’s heading into his age-33 season. Last year, Johnson appeared in all 16 games and managed 23 pressures two sacks from the interior. He reportedly asked for a one-year, $4MM extension last season, but the Vikings refused, which could give an idea where Minnesota stands on Johnson’s value. He’s PFR’s No. 9 free agent defensive tackle.
Only Two Teams Showing “Serious Interest” In Kirk Cousins?
It’s been reported that Kirk Cousins is atop several teams’ wish list, but could there only be two teams that are “seriously” pursuing the quarterback? That’s what ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio is hearing, as league sources tell him that the Jets and Vikings are the only two teams to have shown “serious interest” in the free agent. This would somewhat echo a report from earlier today that indicated that there are “at least two teams” in pursuit of Cousins.
Florio notes that other teams may have “made a phone call and/or placed a ballpark number on the table.” However, it’s believed that the Jets and Vikings are the only two serious candidates for Cousins’ services.
We previously heard that Cousins wasn’t expected to make a decision until the new league year begins on Wednesday. However, if it’s true that two teams have put offers on the table, a signing could realistically be announced at any time. It was reported earlier that at least one team was going to offer a deal that was nearly fully-guaranteed, and our own Ryan Posner wrote earlier today that Cousins could receive a deal that approaches $60MM in the first year.
The Vikings are currently armed with $47.6MM in cap room, while the Jets now have a league-high $92MM in space. The Vikings are reportedly in the “driver’s seat” for Cousins, and the organization has made signing the quarterback a “top priority.”
The 29-year-old Cousins finished last season having completed 64.3-percent of his passes for 4,093 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
Extra Points: Cousins, Smith, Gotsis
Now that he’s going to be departing as a free agent, Kirk Cousins compiled a farewell letter aimed at Redskins fans. However, did Cousins give away his possible destination in the tags portion of his open letter? The earliest version of the quarterback’s published post had “Jets” and “Vikings” as tags, among many other entries, Will Brinson of CBS Sports tweets. So, either the person responsible for operating the tags forgot to leave those out, or has Cousins’ list been narrowed down to two? Of the serious suitors, the Vikings and Jets would make the most sense to be the teams offering a fully guaranteed contract. None of those teams ready to make those offers have been identified. The Broncos and Cardinals do not have as much cap space, though, perhaps making such a proposal dicey. But no finalists have yet to emerge.
Here’s the latest from around the league on Tampering Day 1:
- Cousins’ old team is ready to commit plenty of guaranteed money to another quarterback. Alex Smith‘s four-year, $94MM Redskins deal is soon to become official, and the contract contains guarantees that surpass Jimmy Garoppolo‘s. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) Smith’s deal includes $55MM guaranteed at signing and $71MM fully guaranteed by the start of the 2019 league year. Those figures are almost what Matthew Stafford earned with the Lions on his 2017 extension and more than Garoppolo’s 49ers deal. Garoppolo remains the clubhouse leader with $27.5MM AAV, but that contract is light on guarantees compared to other recent re-ups. And Cousins’ contract could well blow those agreements out of the water and represent a seismic shift in NFL contracts, should it indeed be a fully guaranteed deal.
- Broncos defensive end Adam Gotsis was arrested on rape charges stemming from an alleged 2013 incident while he was a student at Georgia Tech, Kirk Mitchell and Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post report. Gotsis surrendered on the charge of strong-arm rape at the Fulton County Jail and was released upon paying a $50K bond, the Denver Post duo reports. Gotsis, who the Broncos drafted in the second round in 2016, has been accused of overcoming the will of a 25-year-old woman in March 2013. The Australia native became a starter for the Broncos last season. “We were recently informed of an investigation into an alleged incident involving Adam Gotsis that occurred in 2013 when he was in college. Our organization was aware of his arrest on March 7, and it is our understanding that no determination has been made at this time as to whether any charges will be filed,” the Broncos said in a statement. “The Broncos take an accusation of this nature very seriously and will continue to closely monitor the legal proceedings.”
Vikings Reach Out To Drew Brees
The Vikings have called on Drew Brees, a league source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Brees, of course, is widely expected to re-sign with the Saints, but he is technically available and Minnesota plans to leave no stone unturned. Other QB-needy teams have also reached out to Brees, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The Vikings’ top target in free agency is reportedly Kirk Cousins. But, with several other teams after him, including the cash-flush Jets, the Vikings are exploring backup plans. Realistically, their best Plan B may be their own free agent, Case Keenum, but they may prefer to have Brees if possible.
At least two teams in pursuit of Cousins are reportedly willing to give him a three-year, fully guaranteed contract. It’s unclear as to whether the Vikings are one of those clubs. If they’re not willing to give him that unprecedented deal, then they may have to settle for other QB options. “Settling” for Brees would not be a bad outcome for the Vikings at all as he is arguably the better QB for the here and now.
Brees is 39, but he’s coming off of another spectacular season. In 2017, Brees completed a league-leading 72% of his passes with 4,334 yards and 23 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. You don’t need advanced metrics to gauge his value, but Brees graded out as the second-best quarterback in the NFL last season, behind only Tom Brady.
Keenum Might Not Wait For Cousins To Sign
Popular thought has been that Case Keenum would have to wait for Kirk Cousins to sign with a team before inking a contract of his own. That’s not the case, at least in Keenum’s mind. If Keenum receives a strong offer right out of the gate, he is prepared to take it, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). 
Of course, the call is not up to just Keenum. There figures to be a good amount of overlap between his market and Cousins’ with Keenum as the Plan B – or even Plan C – behind this year’s top free agent. But, it’s notable that Keenum does not intend on waiting for Cousins to set the market. Instead, Keenum likely figures that Cousins’ contract will not have a great deal of bearing on his own.
To a large degree, that is true. Cousins is expected to become the league’s highest-paid player of all-time on a yearly basis with a deal that many have an unprecedented amount of guaranteed cash. Keenum, meanwhile, should garner more than $20MM per season, but nothing close to Cousins.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at second-round level:
- Falcons: G Ben Garland (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (via John Oehser of Jaguars.com, on Twitter)
- Redskins: T Ty Nsekhe (via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
- Titans: G Quinton Spain (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky)
- Vikings: G/C Nick Easton (per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bears: CB Bryce Callahan, WR Cameron Meredith, WR Josh Bellamy (via Rich Campbell and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, all Twitter links)
Non-Tendered:
- Broncos: WR Bennie Fowler (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter)
- Packers: P Jake Schum (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- 49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (per Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler, on Twitter)
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, WR Jordan Taylor, LB Zaire Anderson, T Elijah Wilkinson, LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams, LB Joseph Jones (Jhabvala reports, Twitter links)
- Giants: G Jon Halapio (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, on Twitter)
- Jaguars: TE Ben Koyack, OL William Poehls (Twitter links, via Oehser)
- Packers: WR Michael Clark, OL Justin McCray, CB Donatello Brown (all Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com and Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Raiders: K Giorgio Tavecchio, LB Shilique Calhoun (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com)
- Rams: RB Malcolm Brown, CB Troy Hill (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-Tendered:
- Bears: LS Patrick Scales (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter)
- Cardinals: TE Ifeanyi Momah (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic)
Latest On Kirk Cousins
At least two teams in pursuit of quarterback Kirk Cousins are set to offer the soon-to-be free agent a three-year, fully guaranteed contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport also reported that there was one more team that’s expected to offer a deal that would nearly be fully guaranteed, keeping Cousins on track to soon become the highest paid quarterback in the league.
Cousins wasn’t expected to agree to a new deal until the new league year begins on Wednesday. But with the “legal tampering” period beginning Monday, and two fully-guaranteed deals reportedly on the table, that could certainly change. It’s been suggested that Cousins could earn up to $60MM in the first year of a deal, given a team’s willingness to move around money and available cap space.
The Vikings have $47.6MM in open cap space, with the Broncos at $23MM and the Cardinals at $20.2 MM. The Jets overtook the Browns as the league leaders in cap room over the weekend and have around $92MM in available space.
The Vikings are still believed to be in the “driver’s seat” to sign Cousins, per Rapoport (Twitter link), and he’s expected to take 1-2 visits before deciding on a new team. Minnesota was one of four teams which was reported last week to be a finalist for Cousins’ services, also including the Jets, Cardinals and Broncos.
It was reported Sunday that the Vikings were set to make adding Cousins a top priority this offseason, holding off on other moves until they figure out if he’ll be under center for them. Minnesota has options if it were to miss out on Cousins, with its three quarterbacks on last year’s roster — Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford — all due to become free agents.
Vikings Notes: Cousins, Forbath, Johnson
Kirk Cousins appears to be atop the Vikings offseason wish list. Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com writes that the organization will “go hard” after the free agent quarterback, adding that negotiations with their 13 unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents are on hold until the front office understands how much they’ll need to commit to a signal-caller.
The 29-year-old Cousins finished last season having completed 64.3-percent of his passes for 4,093 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. If the Vikings fail in their pursuit of the former Pro Bowler, they can turn their focus to any of the other three quarterbacks they were rostering in 2017: Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, or Sam Bradford.
Let’s take a look at some other notes out of Minnesota, all via Tomasson…
- The Vikings want to re-sign kicker Kai Forbath, but the team has yet to make an offer to the veteran. The 30-year-old, who earned $775K last season, had one of the best seasons of his career with Minnesota in 2017. Forbath converted 32 of his 38 field goal attempts, and he made 34 of his 39 extra point tries.
- The front office still hasn’t decided what tender they’ll place on restricted free agent offensive guard Nick Easton, but they want him back in 2018. A former undrafted free agent out of Harvard, the 25-year-old has started 17 of his 23 games over the past two seasons with the Vikings. Tomasson notes that the team is unlikely to tender restricted free agent running back Bishop Sankey or offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles.
- There’s no guarantee that defensive tackle Tom Johnson will be back with the team next season. Tomasson notes that Minnesota is willing to pay the 33-year-old, but his return will “depend on other offers he might get.” The writer also writes that Johnson asked for a one-year, $4MM extension last season, but the Vikings ultimately balked. Johnson started 15 of 16 games last season, compiling 32 tackles and two sacks.