Some people may be surprised, but the boys like to play games when they get together for a few beers. Some nights, it could be as innocent as naming random NFL players. Others could be a game called Bed, Wed, or Dead.
Bed, Wed, or Dead involves three people, and you must place each person in one category. Wed means you want a long-term relationship, dead is self-explanatory, and bed means…you wish to have a sleepover with them!
It’s good, clean fun. The Minnesota Vikings will be playing their version of the game this offseason between Danielle Hunter, Kirk Cousins, and Justin Jefferson. With each player looking for a big payday this offseason and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero suggesting they are unlikely to keep everyone, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to make some difficult decisions.
Which player should get a short-term commitment? Which player should get a long-term deal? And who should the Vikings move on from? To figure this out, we must put ourselves in Adofo-Mensah’s shoes.
Bed (Short-term commitment)
Bed is the category where you would like someone to come over for the night, pick up some Mountain Dew, some pizza, flip on WWE No Mercy on your Nintendo 64, and just have a great time. For Kwesi, it means a short-term contract that could keep a player on the roster but not jeopardize his long-term plans.
Cousins is the leader in this category. At age 35, committing to Cousins for four or five years doesn’t seem practical, and he’s handled business year to year dating back to his Washington days.
After the Commanders used the franchise tag twice to keep him around, Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million fully guaranteed contract with the Vikings before signing a two-year, $66 million extension after the 2020 season. The current regime signed Cousins to a one-year, $35 million extension, and he’s up for another contract in free agency.
In a perfect world, the Vikings would work out another deal like this, but you must consider several things. On Sunday, Pelissero reported that Cousins will have a competitive market despite going into his age 36 season and coming off a torn Achilles.
While Cousins could sign a short-term deal, he’d also want security in the form of two fully guaranteed years of salary. If Cousins plays hardball, it could lead Jefferson to ponder his future in Minnesota. Jefferson would probably like to know who is throwing him the ball for the next few years. If Cousins leaves, Jefferson might push for a short-term contract similar to the three-year, $72 million contract D.K. Metcalf signed in 2022.
Jefferson said he wants to “break the bank” with his new contract, though, and that could mean the Vikings use those short-term funds on Hunter.
Hunter will be looking for a payday after his five-year, $72 million extension before the 2018 season became a bargain when the cost of edge rushers soared into nine figures. Although the Vikings have patched things together in the last several years, the two sides never agreed on a new deal, which could lead to a short-term solution this spring.
If Hunter signs a three-year contract, it could set him up to get one last payday at age 32. That sounds improbable, but Von Miller got a six-year, $120 million contract from the Buffalo Bills at age 33, and Hunter is coming off a season where he collected a career-high 16.5 sacks.
The Vikings will need to rectify this situation in free agency, but a three-year contract for big money might be the best scenario.
Wed (long-term commitment)
In the eyes of some, signing Cousins to a long-term contract is the way to go. Cousins mentioned in an interview with Pro Football Talk that he believes he can play for several more years, and quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Tom Brady have changed the game by playing into their 40s.
That sounds good because the Vikings would maintain stability at the quarterback position. But Cousins gets cold feet when signing long-term contracts, which leads us to Hunter and Jefferson. After years of short-term solutions, Hunter could want some more stability in his life, and there’s a Vikings example that could back his case.
Chris Doleman was in a similar situation in 1990, racking up 54.5 sacks in his first six seasons before entering his age-30 campaign. Doleman’s game hit another level in his early 30s; he collected another 34 sacks in the next three seasons. But the Vikings decided to cash in instead of riding off the age cliff and traded him to the Atlanta Falcons before the 1994 season.
Doleman only had 16 sacks in two seasons with the Falcons. However, he made the Pro Bowl in 1995 before tallying 38 sacks in three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers in his age 35 to 37 seasons.
The Vikings went on to regret moving on from Coleman. Derrick Alexander turned out to be a bust after they selected him with the first-round pick they got as part of the trade. Minnesota’s pass rush was their Achilles’ heel in 1998. Minnesota brought Doleman back in 1999, where he had eight sacks before his retirement.
Playing until age 38 isn’t common in today’s NFL, and Hunter’s injury history leaves some long-term risk – even if he’s playing at an All-Pro level. That means the best play would be to lock Jefferson up for as long as possible. While Jefferson could seek to become the highest-paid non-quarterback, he could be worth it as one of five players in NFL history to have 1,000 yards in each of their first four seasons.
Dead (Moving on from a player)
Just to be clear, Adofo-Mensah isn’t going to give anyone a pair of concrete shoes, nor will he be digging a grave at TCO Performance Center. But unless the Vikings are up for pushing money into the 2030s, someone will probably have to leave.
Hunter has a strong chance of signing elsewhere, but there are enough factors that could lead him to stay. He’s playing at a high level and just had a career season playing under defensive coordinator Brian Flores. While he could look to sign with the highest bidder, he may also be a player the front office is willing to bend their philosophy to keep around.
Thanks to his trade value, Jefferson is another intriguing candidate, but there’s enough to hold them against it. Wide receiver trades haven’t worked out for teams that don’t have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Even if they trade Jefferson, the best packages would only include one or two late first-round picks.
The Vikings also would have to endure the massive PR hit of trading Jefferson, who is the face of the franchise. While the Vikings have a history of trading receivers in their prime, Percy Harvin and Stefon Diggs never reached this level. Red McComb’s final middle finger fueled Randy Moss’ departure after failing to get a new stadium.
That leaves Cousins as the player most likely to leave. There was a time when paying him a lot of money made sense with a young core and a dominant defense, but the roster has turned over with Cousins being the common factor.
It’s not entirely Cousins’ fault that it didn’t work out, but these are decisions that teams need to make in the salary cap era. The Vikings aren’t the same team they were when Cousins arrived, and it could mean they would be better off making long-term commitments to other players.
