Post by MidwinterViking on Feb 26, 2022 10:10:52 GMT -6
1st: QBs are worth a lot, even bad ones. Wentz was one of the worst QBs in the league and ended up returning a 1st round pick. Darnold was demonstrably horrible and still got a 2nd and 4th; and after that, Bridgewater was on a bloated contract and damaged goods because the Panthers just traded for a horrible replacement, and he still had a market. The Vikings extend Cousins to get that trade compensation after the the replacement is ready. Even if they have to eat some dead cap or salary, the picks for a mid range starting QB will be worth it.
2nd: The rookie might suck. Are you willing to bet your career that this particular TBD rookie won't suck? And even if you were, why would you even make that bet when you don't have to and when you can get most of the picks later?
- Wentz was on a 4 year / $128M deal when he was traded & he's looking like a 1 year rental.
- Stafford was on a 5 year $135M deal when he was traded and Goff was 4/$134M
- 39 year old Philip Rivers got $25M for a year.
- The Bucs are looking at something like $32M in dead cap for a 2 year rental of Brady
All QB numbers are big, a few million in base salary won't prevent a deal.
Hypothetically, say Cousins gets extension, plays the last year of his current deal (age 34) and the first year of his 2nd deal (age 35) - a team that was trading him would probably see him as a 1-3 year bridge QB (Age 36, 37 & 38). Team will pay to rent even a few years of quality QB play because....
... of your other question. I think the Vikings are probably 3-4 wins worse with a bad QB (Wilson, Fields, Bridgewater, Darnold, Daniel Jones, etc.). 3 wins is a massive swing that is only possible from the QB position. 3 games is also the difference between relevant and not relevant. How many people in the Browns organization would have given their left nut for 2 or 3 extra wins? The entire point of the offseason is to find ways to get more wins. Even in your take where you grossly oversimplify the season to a final draft ranking; you're reducing the Vikings to where the Bears are - the Bears stink right now, they have a massive, painful rebuild ahead of them and the golden QB looks an awful lot like a fraud. Teams will always be willing to chase a player that makes them relevant, even if it's only for one year.
... and neither is this Chris guy.
