Report: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins May “Bet on Himself” in 2024
As the Minnesota Vikings offseason has progressed, it seems more and more like Vikings QB Kirk Cousins could be entering his final season with the team in 2023. A few weeks back, there was a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that suggested the Vikings will not give Cousins another one-year contract extension that would keep him in Minnesota through the 2024 season. Essentially, this made it seem like the Vikings would either be “all-in” or “all-out” with Cousins moving forward.
It seems that Minnesota could be leaning towards the “all-out” option now. This weekend, another report makes it even more apparent that Cousins and the Vikings could part ways following the 2023 season. This time, it was Ian Rapoport making the report that it doesn’t appear that the two sides are going to come to an agreement on a new extension this offseason.
“If there is one player we know that will bet on himself and make sure that the product on the field speaks for itself, it is Kirk Cousins,” Rapoport said on NFL Network in the above clip. “We’ve seen him do it on a couple different franchise tags, then get the fully guaranteed deal that so many quarterbacks, including Lamar Jackson, want. If Cousins did it again, it would not be surprising if the Vikings and Kirk Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney cannot find the right deal.”
Rapoport concluded by saying that a new contract simply “may not be in the cards” because of Minnesota’s sticky financial situation. This financial situation only gets more interesting with other players like Ezra Cleveland, Christian Darrisaw, T.J. Hockenson, and Justin Jefferson potentially looking for new contracts in the near future as well.
So far, we’ve seen a number of quarterbacks get very lucrative deals such as Derek Carr with the New Orleans Saints, Daniel Jones with the New York Giants, and Geno Smith with the Seattle Seahawks.
If Cousins wants a deal that keeps him at the market-rate for QBs, which looks more and more like it could be $40+ million, especially in 2024, the Vikings may not be interested in using that much cap space on a QB.
With a number of talented quarterbacks likely to enter the draft in 2024, and a few notable names that could be had with Day 2 picks (Jake Haener, Hendon Hooker, Jaren Hall, etc.) in the 2023 Draft, it’s not unreasonable to think that the Vikings could try to find their “QB of the future” in one of the next two drafts.
Overall, this is a smart move on the Vikings part. Freeing up cap space at the QB position to help improve the defense, offensive line, and wide receiver position positions could make it much easier for Minnesota to field a true Super Bowl contender in the future.
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 enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.