Vikings Can Deal With Kirk Cousins in 3 Different Ways
Janik Eckardt
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The Minnesota Vikings ended at least one week earlier than expected. A loss against the New York Giants eliminated the Vikings and subsequently concluded the 2022 chapter of the purple team.
Heading into the offseason, the Vikings have to make some decisions, many of which are crucial for the organization’s future. The last loss of the year clearly showed the team’s problems, as the defense couldn’t stop the Giants and their offense. Changes in the defense have to be made.
The offense looked more like a modern-day offense this year than in the past, but the results weren’t much different. Considering the high expectations for the offense in Kevin O’Connell’s first season, the offense did disappoint.
A big part of that offense is quarterback Kirk Cousins. He has been a huge reason for debate in his five years with the team. Of course, that hasn’t changed since the playoff loss. Some say he is not good enough, and the Vikings should make a change. Others think he’s better than every other option.
At the end of the day, the fans don’t make the decisions. However, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to ask himself the same questions as the fans, and he’ll make the decisions to set up the Vikings future. In the 2023 off-season, the Vikings have a few different options.
Vikings Can Deal With Kirk Cousins in 3 Different Ways
Cousins signed with the Vikings in 2018 and was viewed as the missing piece. Objectively, his play has been fantastic but hasn’t led to any overall team success. Needless to say that football is a team game, and there are other factors involved. The Vikings have three different options to handle their quarterback’s situation in the offseason, all of which have advantages and disadvantages from a team’s perspective.
Contract Extension
Minnesota extended the contract of the passer twice. After a successful 2019 season, including a postseason win, the Vikings signed him to a two-year $66 million extension. The cap hits were backloaded, and the problem was pushed into the future to help the roster short-term. That required another extension in 2022 to lower the cap hit and build a competitive team.
Cousins is now signed for one more season and will earn $30 million. The cap hit is slightly over $36 million. An extension would secure long-term security at the most important position and, most importantly, rule out a mess at the position — a mess the Vikings had to deal with for years before Cousins’ arrival.
The downside is that the Vikings would be stuck with Cousins and his contract, most likely with high cap hits and guarantees. Cousins will turn 35 years old in August. A decline in the intermediate future is plausible. This option would secure stability but cost flexibility. Depending on Cousins’ future level of play and a possible succession plan, it is either the best or the worst option.
Do Nothing
Unless the Vikings and their quarterback sign another deal, Cousins is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. A successor is not in the building yet. This way keeps the flexibility to re-sign Cousins after the season, but he could be a hot commodity in free agency. Subsequently, his demands would increase.
It would also immediately start the clock for Adofo-Mensah to find a new passer, probably in the upcoming draft. The Vikings own the 23rd overall pick in the first round. Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell could either draft one there or package some future picks to trade up and get “their guy,” a preferred move of most new regimes.
Selecting a new quarterback in the 2023 draft would ensure the rookie gets one year of veteran mentorship from Cousins and a year of development to get ready without the pressure of stepping on the field.
Trading Cousins
A solid quarterback is all some teams need to be competitive. The New York Jets come to mind. Therefore, the Vikings could receive some draft capital, probably even a first-rounder. That would help to draft a new quarterback.
The downside is that the Vikings would undoubtedly be worse in the 2023 season than they are with the veteran under center. Rookie quarterbacks, even exceptional ones like Justin Herbert a few years ago, don’t play at a higher level than Cousins. Signing a “bridge-quarterback” or someone that can start until the rookie is ready will also cost the Vikings most of the cap space they would save by trading away Cousins, which is exactly $17.5 million.
This way would hurt the team short-term, but the additional draft capital could help move up in the draft to get the quarterback the new regime wants.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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