Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is less than a month away from walking to free agency, and he’s begun to show some interest elsewhere.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported on February 14 that Cousins’ camp is intrigued by the possibility of landing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are more inclined to spend on a veteran quarterback this offseason.
“If the Steelers are going to do something at quarterback, they are going to get a veteran. They aren’t going to roll the dice with a bottom third of the first-round draft pick and hope that that guy develops,” Florio said on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan. “I was talking to some people last week who seem to be intrigued by the possibility of the Steelers making a play for Kirk Cousins. And those people were very close to if not within the Kirk Cousins camp.”
Asked to clarify that it’s the Cousins camp that is hoping the Steelers make an offer to him, Florio added that there’s an “acknowledgment” an offer could come Cousins’ way when the legal free agency tampering window two days before free agency.
“The Falcons and the Steelers are the two teams that I think the Cousins camp is keeping an eye on,” Florio said.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins Continues to Curry Favor Ahead of Free Agency
GettyKirk Cousins during Super Bowl week in Las Vegas.
As free agency draws near, Cousins is publicly becoming less and less attached to the idea of staying in Minnesota. During Super Bowl week, he made numerous media appearances, and the consensus from media row was that Cousins would part ways with the Vikings.
Florio’s report is another escalation toward that possibility and is likely by design.
The NFL Scouting Combine, just 12 days away, is where every NFL agent will gauge the potential market in free agency for their clients from executives around the league. While the legal tampering period, two days before free agency opens on March 13, is still two weeks after the combine, agents will gain a sense of the potential market and offers for their clients then.
That will help influence final contract talks with impending free agents and their current teams who reserve the right to re-sign those players before free agency opens.
Cousins’ representation will look to establish his rate at the combine and come back to the table with the Vikings one final time.
Florio seems to have a pulse on Cousins’ representation, who hopes to receive competing offers from the Steelers and Atlanta Falcons before reconvening with the Vikings.
Vikings Urged to Make Final Call on Kirk Cousins Before NFL Combine
GettyGeneral manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings.
Considering the prospects of Cousins knowing his price as soon as the scouting combine, Florio urged the Vikings that, if they want Cousins, they should not re-sign him before he gets a chance to learn his market at the combine.
“If the Vikings want Kirk Cousin if they want this guy they had better get it done,” Florio said.
“Because the longer they wait, the more Cousins is going to be of the mind, ‘What the hell are they waiting for?’ If somebody makes an offer they may not wait for the Vikings to match it. They may just say, ‘See ya later, you had your chance.’ “
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Vikings’ Kirk Cousins Eyeing AFC Team Ahead of Free Agency, Insider Says