As of Monday at noon ET, any other team can officially make a financial offer to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. At that same time, the Vikings can make a financial offer to any other free-agent quarterback.
The Vikings could, at that point, extend tentative offers hinging on whether Cousins leaves for another team, like the Falcons. If those tentative offers are enough to get Minnesota’s Plan B (or Plan C) to wait, Cousins becomes the first domino to fall.
If he stays in Minnesota, the Falcons — and Minnesota’s other quarterback options — move on. If Cousins goes, the Vikings nail down a deal with their second option, or their third.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has said he wants Cousins back, 100 percent and unequivocally. If Cousins goes, they’ll have their fallback plan. If it consists of signing a veteran who decides not to wait around, the Vikings could end up in a purple pickle.
Actually, Cousins (who has always worked the business angles to his advantage) potentially benefits from waiting. If/when Minnesota’s other targets go elsewhere, Cousins’s leverage increases.
That also applies to the Falcons, if they have indeed zeroed in on Cousins. If Atlanta’s non-Cousins options scatter, Cousins could squeeze more out of the Falcons.
It could also blow up on Cousins. If he has two suitors (in 2018, it was only the Vikings and the Jets) and if one of them moves on in lieu of waiting for his decision, his leverage dries up.
As of Monday at noon ET, the game begins. Teams and players will have to know when to move. There will be winners. There will be losers. It will be fun to watch.
