The idea began to percolate about 2 years ago
Anthony Averett Jersey , in discussions between Kirk Cousins and agent Mike McCartney about his status with the Washington Redskins and his future in the
NFL.
The goal was to get a fully guaranteed contract, the security players in this league of high turnover and short shelf lives have sought for decades, unlike
their peers in professional baseball, basketball and hockey who are accustomed
to guaranteed money.
This week, when Cousins finally reached free agency after two consecutive seasons playing on the franchise tag, the Minnesota Vikings made that
once-unrealistic aspiration happen with an $84 million, three-year deal.
”It took a great player to come to the market, and it’s not easy to get to the market with great players,” McCartney said. ”It’s just the way it turned
out. It’s been an exciting several weeks in anticipation. We researched all
fall, the different teams and potential options. At one point, we never thought
that the Vikings would need a quarterback and yet still did our research and
homework on them. As we got closer to free agency, I had a feeling we were going
to have an opportunity.”
The ice has at least been chipped, though, if not broken wide open.
”It won’t matter if other players after me choose to go a different route
Lee Smith Jersey ,” Cousins said at his introductory news conference on Thursday. ”It is what it is for my situation, but players after me have to
decide what they want to do.”
There are a number of complex reasons why NFL contracts have so rarely been guaranteed like those in MLB, the NBA or the NHL, with one being a decades-old
clause in the collective bargaining agreement that requires teams to put
deferred guaranteed money in escrow. That was devised before the league’s
revenue boom to ensure teams wouldn’t run out of cash to pay players. Now, the
rule can simply deter deep-pocketed owners from granting long-term, guaranteed
deals that require cutting massive checks that won’t be cashed for years.
”Now we have so much TV money that it’s completely unnecessary from my vantage point,” McCartney said.
The key to making this a trend instead of a footnote will be more players willing to take shorter contracts. If Cousins asked for a five-year deal, the
total value likely wouldn’t have been much higher if at all. In so many
contracts over the course of the modern NFL, the maximum value was never paid
out because teams were able to cut an aged or underperforming players without
being on the hook for much if any guaranteed money in the latter part of the
deal.
McCartney acknowledged his confidence level of fulfilling this goal was relatively low when he first approached the Redskins about a new contract for
his client. Cousins picked the Vikings for more than just the desirability of
their offer. They provided him the best championship opportunity of all the
suitors, and he raved about the culture and leadership he discovered through his
research and initial visit to team headquarters.
”Just so grateful for the way things have played out, Andrew Luck traipses across the locker room with a little extra pep in his step these days.
It's obvious from the smile that the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback is content to put on his shoulder pads, prepare for practice and get ready to
make his first regular-season start in more than 20 months.
Sure, there were times Luck questioned when or even if this day would come, whether he could regain the Pro Bowl form from his first three pro seasons after
shoulder surgery and whether those regular pregame jitters he craves would again
be part of his game-day routine.
Now, just a few days away from facing Cincinnati's defense, Luck looks and sounds like the confident leader everyone expects him to be this season.
"I think everybody knows how great a quarterback he is. He's been out for a little while so I think they're probably waiting to see if he's back, healthy,
ready to go," kicker Adam Vinatieri said. "Everything that we've seen this
offseason through minicamp
Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey , training camp tells me he's ready to rock and roll and be the Andrew we all know he can be."
Luck understands just how heavily scrutinized these first few games will be.
He anticipates a litany of questions about his health, the subtle changes he's made to his throwing motion after working out with former major league
pitcher Tom House, his ability to bounce up after big hits and whether using the
sidelines and baseball slides will change his approach to the game.
After all, it was the hit he took from behind in the third preseason game that caused a minor foot injury that forced him out of two practices last week.
But the fact he is talking about his foot rather than lingering pain in his
right shoulder certainly is a sign of progress.
"Certainly not as smooth (a recovery) as you'd like," he said Wednesday, referring to his recovery from the surgery on a partially torn labrum in January
2017. "There have been hiccups and there have been challenges and hurdles to go
over and frustrating times, and as a team, too. But I feel like we've always
managed to find a way through it."
The darkest moments appeared to come after Luck shut down his throwing regimen and went on injured reserve last fall.
He spent several weeks seeking additional opinions to determine whether a second procedure was necessary. Once assured nothing was structurally wrong,
Luck headed to the Netherlands in November where he worked for more than a month
working with a trusted trainer in relative anonymity.
When he returned to the team complex in late December, Luck was clearly a frustrated man.
"There was a time, probably a couple weeks into being away from here, in early December that was pretty difficult for me to sort of see the positive in
things," he said on Dec. 29. "You get a little emotionally tired. I am, I think,
a little emotionally tired from the whole process. But that's all right."
Teammates understood.
"It's a lonely feeling in this league when you get hurt and you can't be out there with your teammates, for your coaches, for your fans," tight end Jack
Doyle said. "So when I think he got back around us and practicing and just
playing football again, you really saw him come back to normal
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It took more than five months to see actual results.
Luck resumed throwing footballs in May, a secret he kept by swearing first-year coach Frank Reich to silence.
Then, on the second day of Indy's three-day minicamp Luck made a surprise return and began flinging footballs around the practice field for the first time
since October.
Suddenly, the conversations changed throughout the city.
Reich and general manager Chris Ballard outlined a training camp plan that called for Luck to mimic his regular-season routine by throwing three times per
week in non-game settings.
Luck's brief appearance in the preseason opener at Seattle eased most doubts about whether he'd start the season opener.
His ability to survive big hits in each of the first three preseason games proved to fans, coaches and critics he was healthy. And if any additional
assurances were needed, teammates found them in Luck's demeanor on and off the
field.
"Seeing him finally come out in camp and just have that confidence back, it really is a lot of fun," center Ryan Kelly said. "Being able to laugh and joke
around, I'm sure a year ago even if he had been playing he didn't have that in
him. So it's kind of like a reset button for him and it's fun."
Now Luck must deal with yet another test.
He faces a Bengals defense that includes sacks artists such as Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap and Carl Lawson with the possibility of playing
behind two new tackles.
Longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo did limited work in practice Wednesday and his status for Sunday's game remains unclear. Reich said he's decided on a
starter at right tackle, but won't make an announcement till Sunday.
Still, Luck isn't fretting.
He knows he's endured tougher predicaments and experienced more mentally challenging moments over the past 20 months while rediscovering his passion for
the game. And he can't wait for the moment, Saturday night or Sunday morning,
when his stomach tightens and those nerves start firing.
"I think those butterflies will always be there," he said with a smile. "It's a special feeling and I've missed that feeling."
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