If you’ve consumed any NFL media during the off-season, you’ve likely heard of the “QB developmental clock.”
The concept might sound foreign, but it’s simple to understand. As the theory goes, having a quarterback on his rookie-scale contract is valuable. It allows teams to build the team in different ways and opens up a better pathway to success.
For some, this concept is a crutch. There’s a belief among some that you can only win if you have either a young quarterback on a cheap contract or a superhuman signal-caller with an alien-like ability (see: Patrick Mahomes).
As the Minnesota Vikings enter the offseason, his concept will become a talking point. Kirk Cousins is at the tail end of his career, and he’s a free agent in 2024. In a way, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell can begin a new clock by drafting a rookie quarterback and riding with the youth.
The question now becomes: how viable of a strategy is this, and how does it help in team building?
Regarding viability, another question is if Minnesota should pursue such an idea or offer Cousins an extension.