Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins receives his fair share of criticism, but regardless of how one feels about his job performance, there is no denying that he has been handsomely compensated for said performance. He is entering the final year of the three-year pact that he signed with Minnesota in March 2018, and he is due a $29.5MM salary in what would be his platform campaign.
But that salary now ranks as the seventh-highest in the league, and it could go down several more spots after QBs that are currently slated for free agency find new homes or sign extensions with their current clubs. And the Vikings have the lowest amount of cap space in the NFL at the moment, so it may make sense for both sides to work out a new deal.
According to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, that’s exactly what execs around the league expect to happen. Goessling says that there was a “widely held belief” at the scouting combine that the Vikings will pursue an extension for Cousins this offseason, though he cautions that such an extension will not necessarily give Minnesota a ton of financial breathing room. After all, the QB market remains player-friendly, and Cousins is coming off the best year of his career. Whether or not a new CBA is ratified by the league’s workforce could also impact the structure of the deal, as Goessling sets forth in more detail.
The Vikings fell short of capturing the NFC North in 2019, and though they upset the Saints in the wildcard round of the playoffs, they laid an egg in a divisional-round loss to the 49ers. Cousins was not the only culprit in that loss, but he has yet to shake the notion that he is incapable of winning big games.
However, in guiding a more run-oriented attack in 2019, he did post a career-high QB rating of 107.4 while throwing 26 TDs against six interceptions. He may have his flaws, but it’s not easy to find that type of production.
Wise decision ‘wink wink’ Minny.
Cousins is going to get crunked up
Minnesota shouldn’t expect any favours from Kirk Cousin – he’s a pure mercenary, a bookkeeper with a good throwing arm. I expect Cousins hopes to hit free agency again and again in a seller’s market.
The Redskins kept Cousins as a tag hostage for 2 years but he’s a mercenary? That’s pretty funny Alec.
The Redskins offered Cousins more than he’s worth, as Minnesota found out to their peril. Cousins should worry more about winning the big game than maxing out his contracts. Both sides should win in a deal, not just the overpaid and underperforming quarterback.
I think he’ll re-up at a discounted rate
I don’t get the big knock on Cousins. In 3 years as the starter in Washington he has a winning record on otherwise bad teams and his two years in MN have been strong. He doesn’t throw a lot of picks. I don’t watch a lot of his games but he’s better than most QB’s.
His career is similar to Tony Romo. Bad in January.
Kirk can only hope the similarity follows to the commentary mic, as Tony hit the lottery there.
Cousins is a pretty awful public speaker. The connection between thought and speech isn’t really there. The best he could do would be Jason Witten in the broadcast booth. Romo is a once in a generation talent as a broadcaster.
I guess we all have our favorites. Paul Maguire had hilarious anecdotes when he was a broadcaster for the Bills. I also like Dan Dierdorf who has worked for ABC, CBS and currently does the Michigan Wolverine games.
He like that
Tying the Vikings to Cousins for cap flexibility in 2020 sounds like a move a GM / Head Coach with expiring contracts do. Best move for Vikings is play out the deal.
This should be an interesting situation to watch. Viking players like Rudolph and Barr have in the past shown their reluctance to having deals restructured to free up cap space. That attitude may extend to others on the roster as well. Cousins is on the wrong side of 30 now so securing a long term extension may not be a slam dunk.