Kirk Cousins will get the exact contract he wants from the Vikings

Washington never trusted Kirk Cousins enough to give him a long term contract after his rookie deal expired. The Vikings didn’t have the same problem.

Minnesota will sign the big-armed quarterback to a fully guaranteed three-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal is reportedly worth $84 million, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal makes Cousins the highest-paid quarterback on a per-year basis.

It’s a fitting reward for a player who performed up to, and occasionally beyond, the lofty expectations Washington placed on him. Cousins has been one of the league’s most consistent passers the past three seasons, throwing for more than 13,000 yards and tossing 81 touchdowns in that span.

He made $23.9 million last year in his second season under Washington’s franchise tag, but it was clear the team had no intention of giving him the money he felt he deserved this spring. In January, the club traded a third-round draft pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller for the opportunity to pay Alex Smith $94 million over four years.

Now Cousins can show Washington just how big a mistake it made by living up to his new contract with the Vikings.

Cousins has over-delivered for a Washington team with a limited supply of playmakers in recent seasons. He emerged as the team’s starter after spending his first three seasons in the league backing up the oft-injured Robert Griffin III, showing flashes of capability and providing hope for the team’s future.

But Washington wasn’t sold on Cousins’ success. Even though he led the league in completion percentage in 2015 and threw a career-high 29 touchdown passes, the team used the franchise tag to retain him for nearly $20 million in 2016. He responded by throwing for more than 4,900 passing yards that fall, but still didn’t lock down a long-term contract for 2017.

That impasse pushed him to the free agent market, where Minnesota snagged him, hoping he can be the missing piece for an offense that lost not one, not two, but all three quarterbacks on the roster last year to free agency.

Cousins has been an effective quarterback with a penchant for impressive performances. He’s thrown for at least 4,000 yards in each of his three years as a primary starter and completed 67 percent of his passes. He finished last season as a top -10 passer in terms of yardage, passing touchdowns, accuracy, and passing efficiency.

However, those big stats haven’t translated to big wins. Washington only advanced to the postseason in one of his three years at the helm and never won more than nine regular season games while Cousins was the full-time starter.

Cousins had a limited array of skill players with which to work in Washington. In his three years as a starter, no tailback rushed for more than 751 yards in the team’s pass-heavy offense. In that span, the team’s running backs scored 23 touchdowns on the ground, forcing Cousins to fill in the gaps with 81 touchdown passes. Dalvin Cook, who will be back after tearing his ACL early in his rookie season, and Latavius Murray should provide more ground support for the Vikings in 2018.

He’ll also upgrade from a mostly anonymous receiving corps. Jamison Crowder and Ryan Grant emerged as Cousins’ top two wideouts throughout a 7-9 season. While Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, and Jordan Reed were a strong support network in 2015 and 2016, missing those three players in 2017 (Garcon and Jackson to departures, Reed to injury) clearly affected Cousins, who had statistically his worst year as a starter.

Now he’ll have Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and tight end Kyle Rudolph, all of whom were productive for the Vikings last season. Thielen was the Vikings’ leading receiver with 1,276 yards, and Diggs and Rudolph each contributed eight scores last year.

This Vikings made it to the NFC Championship last year with Case Keenum behind center. Cousins is an upgrade over Keenum, and the future is bright in Minnesota.