That could be interesting. They've got a lot of cap space this year, and quite a bit projected for next year, too, but have some good players who they will want to re-sign. So, if they front load the contract, paying him huge money for the 2018 season, he might have a smaller cap hit for the following two years, allowing them flexibility to resign their other guys.
Maybe. And then he'd be able to hit the open market again for another big payday.
I don't know. Depends in part on how high the Jets are willing to go and how much they're willing to guarantee. As I understood it Cousins was going to take his time and visit with multiple teams, so it's curious that the Vikes would let details of the offer leak without knowing what the other teams are going to offer. And if they didn't leak it then it must have come from Cousins' camp. And if that's the case then is he just trying to drive up the bidding?