National Site Claims Kirk Cousins Will Get the Boot after 2023
At Minnesota Vikings minicamp last week, reporters asked quarterback Kirk Cousins if contract extension talks were ongoing or afoot. The 34-year-old replied, “I think we’ll probably talk about the contract next March. Until then, [we’ll] just focus on this season and the job to do right now.”
National Site Claims Kirk Cousins Will Get the Boot after 2023
In April, when asked about Cousins’ extension or lack thereof, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said, “Kirk doesn’t need to do show anything to me. Kirk has played football at a high level before I got to the Minnesota Vikings. Last year, we won 13 games. I don’t know what he would need to prove to me or anybody else.”
“Sometimes you come to a place [in contract talks] where you decide, ‘Hey, let’s talk later. This is a solution for now.’ That’s all that’s happened,” Adofo-Mensah added.
And all those musings are enough for some to surmise that 2023 is Cousins’ last ride in Minnesota. Productive quarterbacks seldom hit the final year of their contracts, so the Vikings appear to be setting the stage for Cousins’ swan song with the team that signed him in 2018.
Bleacher Report advanced the theory last weekend, documenting six quarterbacks most likely to change teams after 2023 — and Cousins headlined Kristopher Knox’s list.
“Cousins has also failed to lift the Vikings to the ranks of serious playoff contenders. He’s gone just 1-3 in the playoffs (1-2 with Minnesota) and hasn’t earned a playoff win since the 2019 season. If Cousins can’t deliver postseason success this year, the Vikings may not be interested in re-signing him next March. The reality is that this is a rebuilding team, and the offseason releases of Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook serve as proof,” Knox explained.
Minnesota onboarded Cousins five years ago, and since, he ranks first in 4th Quarter touchdown passes, fourth in touchdown passes in general, and fifth in overall passing yards.
Knox continued, “However, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah cannot afford to blow things up at quarterback just yet because of Cousins’ contract. His $20.3 million 2023 cap hit and the $48.8 million in dead money remaining on his contract are fully guaranteed.”
Instead of extending Cousins this offseason, Adofo-Mensah pushed $28.5 million into 2024 and beyond. If Cousins signs with another team next offseason, $28.5 million of his dead cap hit will calcify against the 2024 salary cap.
“While Minnesota will owe Cousins $28.5 million in dead money next year, it will owe that whether or not he’s on the team. Unless Cousins proves that he’s the quarterback who can end the Vikings’ lengthy Super Bowl drought — their last appearance was in 1976 — they’ll likely move on to look for one who can,” Knox concluded.
Cousins will experience offensive playcaller continuity for the first since 2015-2016 this season. The last time he had such a setup was with Sean McVay in Washington. In theory, Cousins could perform marvelously and prolong his stint in Minnesota.
Otherwise, should the Vikings not make a serious run in the postseason and perhaps repeat the 2022 story — a first-round playoff exit after a commendable regular season — Knox is correct. Minnesota has structured Cousins’ deal with 2023 as his final hurrah in purple.
Knox also mentioned these men in Cousins’ situation, with a change of team around the bend: Jimmy Garoppolo (Raiders), Trey Lance (49ers), Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers), Kyler Murray (Cardinals), and Ryan Tannehill (Titans).
As of right now, Cousins has started the same amount of games for the Vikings as former quarterback Daunte Culpepper (80).
Cousins turns 35 in August.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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