ESPN Lays Out a Plan for Kirk Cousins’ Contract
Josh Frey
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Kirk Cousins and his contract continue to have a vice-grip on the discussion topics within the Minnesota Vikings community. Minnesota is unlikely to give him another short-term extension this offseason, so there are really three options for Minnesota:
- Let him play out his final season in 2023
- Extend him for multiple years
- Trade him
On Monday, Bill Barnwell of ESPN laid out a plan for the Vikings offseason, including what he believes they should do about Cousins’ contract. On Cousins, Barnwell said the following,
“Adofo-Mensah could create cap space by extending Cousins, as he did before the 2022 season, but doing so only extends the passer’s tenure with the team and delays the inevitable. The Vikings seem likely to be in the market for a young quarterback as early as this offseason. While restructuring Cousins’ deal would free up room, it’s probably time to leave that tactic in the past.“
Cousins’ contract does put the Vikings in quite a pickle. He’s set to carry a cap hit of $36.25 million in 2023, which currently is the sixth-highest cap hit in the NFL for a single player.
Expecting him to take an extension that drops his annual salary down into the $25-30 million range feels like wishful thinking, especially as QBs continue to make more and more money every offseason. On the open market, there’s little doubt in my mind Cousins could command a contract that pays him $40 million per year for the rest of his 30s.
However, given the fact that the Vikings will probably be giving all three of T.J. Hockenson, Justin Jefferson, and Christian Darrisaw rather lucrative deals in the next 12-15 months, the Vikings simply don’t have the cash to pay Cousins that type of money.
This is the reason, as Barnwell suggests, that Minnesota could be in the market for a young QB this offseason as they try to find their “QB of the future”. Perhaps that results in the Vikings going all-in and trading up in the first round of the 2023 Draft to grab one of the top four QBs in this class.
Cousins’ contract isn’t the only puzzle that the Vikings have to solve this offseason, though. Barnwell also goes into a discussion of what Minnesota could do with other veteran offensive players like Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen. He writes,
Wideout Adam Thielen has the second-largest cap hit on the roster at $19.1 million, and the 32-year-old failed to top 75 receiving yards in a single game in 2022. Designating Thielen as a post-June 1 release would free up $13.4 million in much-needed room, although they could instead ask him to take a pay cut from the $13.3 million he’s due. They also could free up $7.9 million by releasing running back Dalvin Cook.
Fans probably should prepare for both veterans to be off the roster by the time September rolls around. As Barnwell points out, the Vikings could save more than $20 million against the cap by cutting them, and with progressively decreasing roles in the offense, the two players likely aren’t worth the cap hits that they currently carry.
Perhaps a restructure for either of them could take place to keep them around, but Cook already has been reported as unwilling to take a pay cut, and there seems to be some frustration within his camp regarding Minnesota’s play-calling from 2022. On top of that, the tea leaves suggest that Thielen hasn’t been all that happy with the Vikings path in recent years, either.
Overall, this offseason could be very interesting from a Vikings standpoint. The franchise finds itself at a crossroads between preparing to pay their young stars and keeping the older veterans happy while they finish their careers. Something will have to give at some point.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh can often be found training for a marathon, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.