All relationships fell into a pattern during the early days of Facebook. Someone would post pictures with their significant other. The alternating posts of “I love you more!” and “No, I love YOU more!” would come at a nauseating pace until their relationship status would change.
For some, that would mean they’re in a relationship. Perhaps they would be in an open relationship. But if that connection somehow went on the rocks, it would lead to the dreaded “It’s complicated” status.
If the Minnesota Vikings had a Facebook profile, their relationship status would say, “It’s complicated with Kirk Cousins.” The Vikings have shared plenty of feel-good moments involving Cousins in the past year, including the birth of Kirko Chainz and his duet with Kelly Clarkson. But those moments go out the window when discussing his future with the franchise.
Cousins and the Vikings are a perfect fit for each other. In five years as Minnesota’s starter, Cousins has thrown for 4,000 yards four times and thrown for 30 or more touchdowns three times. He’s missed only one game and is the ultimate partner for football’s cuffing season. While other teams scramble to find a quarterback, the Vikings can snuggle up to Cousins knowing they have a suitable solution at one of the NFL’s toughest positions.
The only problem is that solution comes with a $36.25 million cap hit, and the Vikings are roughly $24.4 million over the salary cap entering this offseason. While there are other ways to create cap room, Cousins has been the central figure in these discussions and is entering the final year of his latest one-year extension.
In the past, these deals have been like a security blanket for both sides. The Vikings can keep Cousins for next season while Cousins gets what he deems to be market value. Extending Cousins for another year arguably would be the perfect idea for Minnesota. It lowers his cap number and buys them time to find a long-term solution for the future.
A short-term contract extension is an even better idea when you consider Minnesota’s current odds at finding a quarterback.
After losing in the first round of the playoffs, the Vikings have the 24th- (or is it 23rd?) overall pick in the NFL draft. It’s unlikely a top quarterback prospect will fall far enough in the draft for the Vikings to take one with their pick. And, with just four picks – and an expected fifth-round selection added by the compensation formula – they don’t have the draft capital to trade up.
This could lead to a plan where Cousins gets extended for a year, and the Vikings load up their roster and then look to take a quarterback in 2024 when USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and Texas’s Quinn Ewers could be joined by Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Jordan Travis of Florida State in a potentially loaded QB class.
This sounds great to the Vikings, but where does it leave Cousins?
Cousins stated last summer that he would love to retire a Viking. While Cousins’ career has been about maximizing cash flow with a series of one-year deals, he may believe that now is the time to make a long-term commitment.
In addition to what we mentioned about Cousins earlier in this piece, he proved several of his narratives wrong last year. With Mike Zimmer out of the picture, Cousins was encouraged by an offensive-minded head coach and has a good relationship with Kevin O’Connell. His personality started to shine through. He wore chains on planes, appeared on the Manningcast, and sang a rendition of “Since You Been Gone” that sounded like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.
Cousins also came off a season where he made eight fourth-quarter comebacks and got more comfortable with O’Connell’s system as the year progressed. If it weren’t for a fourth-and-eight checkdown on the final play against the New York Giants, Cousins played well enough to be the hero in that game – even if O’Connell wanted to throw him the ball on third down.
Heading into the twilight of his career, Cousins could be looking for one final payday and some believe that a long-term commitment could help the Vikings continue to be relevant for years to come.
But a cautious tale comes from across the river, where the Green Bay Packers gave Aaron Rodgers a three-year, $150 million deal last offseason. The Packers believed that they had the infrastructure to compete for a championship with Rodgers in the fold and with back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards, there was no sign of the 39-year-old slowing down.
Then 2022 happened. Rodgers didn’t look like himself, and the Packers were in the same spot the Vikings had been for years. They now had an expensive quarterback paired with a team that needed plenty of improvements. One year later, the Packers are considering trading Rodgers and getting out of the contract.
Cousins is five years younger than Rodgers, but the Vikings’ situation is different than the Packers’ predicament last year. The Vikings are coming off two losing seasons and a first-round playoff loss over the past three seasons and have several holes to fill.
How many, you ask? Cornerback, linebacker, defensive tackle, defensive end, edge rusher (especially if Za’Darius Smith or Danielle Hunter are traded), offensive guard, center, wide receiver, and running back are just some of the areas of need. If Cousins is making $40 million per season – a number that could be higher if Derek Carr and Daniel Jones break the bank – the Vikings would have to throw darts in the draft just to field a competitive team.
That makes things complicated no matter what the Vikings decide to do with Cousins. If they offer a short-term deal, they risk Cousins playing it out and leaving them without a safety net in 2024. If they give him a long-term deal, the Vikings will be playing with a late-30s quarterback and a roster that screams 8-9.
It’s almost enough to have the Vikings answer if someone like Kyle Shanahan slides into their DMs and asks “U up?” But for now, the Vikings’ relationship with Cousins is complicated, and there may not be a way to clean it up.
