Getting the groundbreaking contract was the relatively easy part, given the way Kirk Cousins tilted the NFL’s economic landscape in his favor by hitting the unrestricted free-agent market this past offseason following two franchise tags by Washington.

Now, as Cousins’ first season with the Minnesota Vikings nears, comes the tougher task: living up to that contract.

The Vikings didn’t explicitly attach a Super Bowl-or-bust label to their season when they signed Cousins in March to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract. But they may as well have done so.

They ousted a quarterback – Case Keenum – who played close to an MVP level for them last season, taking them to the NFC title game. So clearly they believe that adding Cousins amounts to putting the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle in place. Much is being paid and much is expected in return.

“He got exactly what he was hoping for,” former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann said. “The pressure that comes with a contract like that is tremendous. But he spent two years in Washington betting on himself. He knows what that’s like. He’s going to put, what, $120-some million in the bank over the course of five years? He’s going to be OK. So it’s not economic. It’s whether you deliver.”

Will it work? There are plenty of reasons to believe it will. Cousins, coming off three straight 4,000-yard passing seasons with Washington, is surrounded by what appears to be a Super Bowl-ready team. The Vikings have one of the league’s top wide receiver tandems in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Running back Dalvin Cook returns from the torn anterior cruciate ligament. The Vikings ranked first in the NFL last season in total defense and scoring defense.

But there are issues. The offensive line is an area of major concern, particularly with recent injuries causing reshuffling.

Keenum demonstrated good movement in the pocket last season while throwing for 3,547 yards and 22 touchdowns in 15 games. Cousins will have to play extremely well to represent an upgrade over that.

“I’d rather have Cousins than Keenum going forward,” a personnel executive with an NFC team said. “I’m not sure Keenum will be able to do that again. But he was really good last year. I’m not sure he got enough credit.”

Cousins seems to be a good fit with the new offensive coordinator, John DeFilippo, who was hired after Pat Shurmur’s departure to become the head coach of the New York Giants. DeFilippo most recently was the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles’ offense thrived last season with the run-pass options that have become the NFL’s latest offensive craze. Cousins is well suited to making the quick reads and delivering the darting throws necessary to make such plays work.

But Coach Mike Zimmer made it clear from the outset that the team must adjust its offense to Cousins, more than Cousins adjusting to the offense. At the league meeting in March, Zimmer spoke to Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay and San Francisco 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan, both former Washington offensive coordinators, about Cousins.

“These guys rave about him,” Zimmer said. “I don’t think the learning curve will be big”

Cousins’ reign as the sport’s highest-paid player was short. His contract’s average annual value was surpassed by the five-year, $150 million extension that quarterback Matt Ryan signed with the Atlanta Falcons in May. But Cousins’ contract remains unique because guaranteed deals are rare in the NFL.

Theismann said he believes all will go well.

“If you look back at last year, he had a terrific year,” Theismann said. “And he had no wide receivers to speak about. … His offensive line had a bunch of guys get hurt. … And yet he managed to put up numbers. Now you look at the people around him in Minnesota. He could have an MVP-type year because of the people around him.”

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