Do the Vikings want to keep Kirk's sons? If so, it's time to close the deal

Six years ago, the Vikings wanted quarterback Kirk Cousins. So they went and arrested him.

Now, with less than a month until Cousins ​​hits free agency and a little more than a week before Tampering Central appears in Indianapolis at the Scouting Combine, the Vikings and Cousins ​​do not have an active contract.

Eight days ago, Chris Sims and I interviewed both Cousins ​​and Vikings receiver KJ Osborn at the Super Bowl media center. (Video attached.) Based on what I gleaned during and after the conversation, I will say this. If the Vikings want to keep Cousins, they're not doing it the right way.

Now, there's a possibility they don't want to keep him. There is a possibility that they want to create the impression that he chose to leave. It wasn't their call not to pay $45 million a year (or thereabouts) to the 36-year-old quarterback in August, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. If this is the strategy, they handle it perfectly.

But if they really want it, the strategy seems to be that they want to see what others will pay before making the move. If so, it is a very bad strategy.

Everyone wants to feel wanted and appreciated. The cousins, by all appearances, want to stay. But if the Vikings don't do the things that would make him (and his family) feel wanted, giving Cousins ​​(and his family) a chance to feel more wanted elsewhere might prompt Cousins ​​to choose a new team over the Vikings, if the Vikings' financial offers are equal. . It would also likely cause the cousins ​​to take less time to go elsewhere, perhaps just to make a point.

Really, who would you want to work for? Is he someone who values ​​you enough to make an aggressive move to get to you, or someone who sighs and shrugs when he has to pay you more than expected because someone else values ​​you more than your current employer does?

We will postpone to another post the possible destinations of the cousins. For now, it's a matter of whether the Vikings will use the final days of their starters to retain him. If they really want to keep him, they should make him an offer he won't refuse – ASAFP.