The NFL's free-agent negotiating window had been open for less than 2½ hours on Monday, March 11, 2024, when agent Mike McCartney sent the following message at 1:26 p.m.: "Excited for @KirkCousins8 agreeing to a 4 year deal with the @AtlantaFalcons."

It meant the Vikings would have a new starting quarterback in 2024: either Sam Darnold, whom they signed to a one-year contract hours later, or the passer they planned to draft in the first round in April (which became Michigan's J.J. McCarthy). It also meant that the Vikings, when given the choice between a costly route to certainty and a more daring path to an open-ended future, chose the latter. They made Cousins a modest offer to return, knowing he might look elsewhere because of the looming possibility they would draft his successor, and wished him well as he pursued a $180 million deal on the open market.

In 2024, they were rewarded handsomely for their gamble: Darnold tied Cousins for the second-most TD passes in a single season in Vikings history (35), reaching his first Pro Bowl as a team projected to win seven games instead won 14, earning Kevin O'Connell NFL Coach of the Year honors and a lucrative extension through the 2029 season.

And at 1:22 p.m. Monday, March 10, 2025 — at almost exactly the same juncture the Vikings had waved goodbye to Cousins a year before — news broke that Darnold would mirror Cousins' path to the opposite coast.

The quarterback agreed to a deal with the Seahawks that will reportedly pay him $100.5 million, including $55 million in guaranteed money, over the next three seasons. It's a more modest deal than the four-year, $180 million contract Cousins got from Atlanta a year ago, despite the fact Darnold is almost nine years younger than Cousins and in better health than Cousins was in 2024.

The last two games of the Vikings' season — their 31-9 loss to the Lions that cost them home-field advantage in the playoffs as Darnold went 18-for-41, and their 27-9 playoff loss where the Rams sacked Darnold nine times — might have cost the quarterback millions of dollars. Some of the chatter about Darnold at the NFL combine last month was about whether he could replicate his Vikings success without O'Connell calling plays and Justin Jefferson catching the ball, which also might have depressed his market.

But he still landed the biggest payday of his career, while the Vikings ensured they will have a new starting quarterback for the third consecutive season. It could be Daniel Jones or another veteran playing the role of a bridge to McCarthy, or it could be the 22-year-old starting his first NFL game after recovering from the torn right meniscus that ended his rookie season.

The Vikings' approach with Darnold, though, resembled the one they took with Cousins. They praised the quarterback publicly, and continued talks with his agents on a new contract, even as they declined to place the franchise tag on him. Their willingness to give Darnold a market-rate deal, though, always seemed like it would be checked by their primary plan: careful development of the quarterback they selected 10th overall in last year's draft, ultimately leading to successful play on a rookie contract that would allow them to fortify the team around him.

Jones is still a candidate to return, though he might deem a competition with Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis to be more favorable than one with McCarthy in Minnesota. If he leaves, the Vikings will ostensibly sign another veteran quarterback, giving them a short-term option in the event McCarthy has a setback or appears to require more prep time. Even Aaron Rodgers' name has been tossed about as an option, in tones ranging from ironic to fanciful.

But it's worth remembering what O'Connell said last August after McCarthy was injured. "As excited as I was to draft him, he's confirmed everything that I hoped to see," the coach said in Cleveland on Aug. 14. "Our fan base and everyone should be excited about the fact that we've got our young franchise quarterback in the building."

However much the Vikings might have flirted with signing Cousins a year ago, or bringing Darnold back on a new deal this year, their plan for the future is tied to McCarthy, which means their commitment to another quarterback will inevitably be tempered. And even if they bring Jones back on a new deal, their QB costs will be lower than they have been in almost a decade.

It gave them room to agree to a new deal with Byron Murphy Jr. on Monday night, reportedly giving their cornerback $66 million over three years. They agreed to a deal with Colts center Ryan Kelly to a two-year deal worth a reported $18 million, meaning the four-time Pro Bowl selection will be in Minnesota as a veteran partner for McCarthy (and possibly spelling the end of Garrett Bradbury's tenure in the starting role). The Vikings also reached a two-year, $11.5 million agreement with former Eagles corner Isaiah Rodgers; hosted former Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen on a free-agent visit; and could pursue additional help on both lines of scrimmage.

Whatever help they add at quarterback, the means by which they handled Darnold's surprising season mimicked the approach they took to ending Cousins' six years as the starter. McCarthy was a possibility a year ago; he's the prospect in the building now. His presence, on Monday, seemed to be a rudder that steered the Vikings back toward their plan.

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