The Minnesota Vikings lost massive leverage in their talks with Kirk Cousins after massive news came from Tampa Bay Sunday afternoon. If they cannot reach a deal beforehand, the Vikings are set to let Cousins start negotiating with teams during the legal tampering period of free agency at Noon on Monday.
The Minnesota Vikings wanted Baker Mayfield in free agency
The Vikings have been liked to Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson in the trade market over the previous few weeks. Per Dianna Russini with The Athletic, the Vikings showed interest in potentially signing Mayfield this week if he could not reach a deal with the Buccaneers.
There have been conflicting reports on whether the Vikings had any interest in Mayfield. However, the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons did. Because Cousins is a target for the Falcons, having Mayfield on the market would help Minnesota retain Cousins for the 2024 season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Baker Mayfield
Per Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, the Buccaneers signed Mayfield to a three-year deal worth $100 million, with $50 million of that guaranteed.
Sources: The #Bucs are closing in on a deal with QB Baker Mayfield, helping Tampa Bay become home for their starter. He gets a 3-year deal worth $100M with $50M guaranteed.
The Bucs continue to work on keep their core. pic.twitter.com/Ir28N6cDt1— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2024
The Demand for Kirk Cousins just went up
The Falcons will now have one less quarterback to pursue in the free-agency market. The demand for Cousins has drastically gone up after news of the Mayfield signing.
Can the Vikings find the cap to keep cousins in Minnesota? Or will the team end up with two New York Jets busts battling for the starting spot in training camp?
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here!
