Why Kirk Cousins, Vikings haven’t agreed on new deal (report)
If Kirk Cousins wants to return to the Vikings in the 2024 season, there’s one wrinkle to a new contract he’s going to have to accept.
According to SI’s Albert Breer, Minnesota has made contact with the quarterback, but are hesitant to give Cousins another fully guaranteed contract. Cousins can’t be franchise tagged by the Vikings due to void years written into his contract, and he’ll carry a $28.5 million cap hit whether he’s rostered by the team or not.
Since signing with Minnesota in 2018, Cousins has always had guaranteed contracts.
Since the Vikings can’t tag Cousins, it puts the team at a bit of a disadvantage. If they wait too long to re-sign him, Cousins can find a new home and sign with any team that comes calling. There’s plenty of teams that could benefit from a new quarterback, including the New England Patriots, the Las Vegas Raiders — who are expected to release Jimmy Garoppolo — and the Denver Broncos.
But Cousins is rehabbing from a torn Achilles suffered in October against the Green Bay Packers. At 35, a team might be hesitant to sign someone recovering from such a serious injury.
The Vikings have the 11th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, so it’s possible Minnesota is looking to take a quarterback to replace Cousins. They, of course, can still choose to sign Cousins, but it sounds as if things are at a standstill.
