With the Minnesota Vikings gearing up to figure out their quarterback situation, the market at the position appears to have shifted, and probably not in the direction that Vikings’ fans would like.
Out on the West Coast, the San Francisco 49ers have backed up the proverbial Brinks truck for their young star quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. Acquired from the New England Patriots at the trading deadline, Garoppolo led the Niners on a mini-run to close the season and has given them reason for huge optimism going forward. For that, he’s going to be rewarded quite handsomely.
According to our friends over at Niners Nation, Garoppolo and the Niners are finalizing a deal worth approximately $137.5 million over the next five years, with a reported $74 million in guarantees. That’s a whole lot of cash, and will make Garoppolo the highest-paid player in the National Football League.
At least, until Kirk Cousins hits the free agent market next month, presumably.
With the deal for Garoppolo, the price tags for both Cousins and current Vikings quarterback Case Keenum will be going up. While I’m not sure whether or not this will affect the potential value of the franchise tag, as I believe those have already been established by the National Football League, it’s certainly going to restructure the parameters for any potential long-term deal that players might be seeking at the quarterback position.
As things stand right now, we don’t know whether or not the Vikings plan to use the franchise tag on Keenum. If they think Keenum is the long-term answer, however, it may have just gotten more difficult to work out a longer deal with him. Franchise and transition tag season starts on 20 February and runs for two weeks. With the Vikings’ decision about their Offensive Coordinator spot likely getting resolved in the next few days, we’ll soon get an opportunity to find out whether the team things that’s the way to go to solve their quarterback issues or if they’ll be going another direction.