The Minnesota Vikings’ future is uncertain. This week, quarterback Kirk Cousins will decide whether he’ll return to the team or sign a massive contract elsewhere. The news might be the domino for the quarterback market, but it’s also the starting point to what the Vikings will look like in the years to come.
Minnesota expects to hear Sunday night about Cousins’ decision to explore free agency, multiple league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The NFL’s “legal tampering period” begins Monday, allowing teams to start negotiations with the representatives of free agents.
Cousins, 35, is expected to have a competitive market that includes the Atlanta Falcons. He is rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon, but since 2018, the year he arrived in Minnesota, he ranks in the top 10 among starting quarterbacks in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and passer rating.
The Vikings have openly and continuously expressed their desire to keep Cousins in Minnesota. Securing his services prior to Wednesday is likely to be a priority, considering the details of Cousins’s dead cap hit. If Minnesota cannot come to terms with Cousins before Wednesday, $28.5 million will accelerate onto the Vikings’ salary cap for 2024.
Conversely, if Minnesota can agree to an extension with Cousins before Wednesday, it’ll have the ability to spread out that money over future years.
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