Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins heads into the offseason unsure of where his next gig will be in the NFL. He sent the Vikings a message Monday about what the front office can do to keep him in Minnesota in 2024.
The 35-year-old quarterback is set to become a free agent in March if the Vikings do not re-sign him before the start of the league’s new year. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback will be one of a few major players the Vikings need to ink to a new deal. Cousins’ offensive colleague, Justin Jefferson, wants to reset the wide receiver market.
Kirk Cousins has one major request from the Vikings
Cousins isn’t just worried about getting his fair share of the Vikings-salary-cap pie if the team wants him to run it back next season. According to a transcript of Cousins’ comments to reporters Monday by Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the aging gunslinger wants a chance to ring chase with the Vikings:
In an end-of-season press conference with reporters, Cousins talked about his decidedly undecided future. He was asked to identify “the most important thing” going forward.
“What a great question,” Cousins said. “What a great question. I think it ultimately is about winning football games. And so that will be the most important thing, winning football games. With that, no one thing is in a vacuum.
Usually, you win football games because there are some other factors that are really important to me that are going to have to be there to be able to win football games. So it ultimately all ties together. The factors work together. But I certainly believe we can do that here.”
Can the Minnesota Vikings afford to win with Jefferson and Cousins
The Vikings didn’t have enough talent to win a Super Bowl this season, even if Cousins had been healthy. They likely would have had just enough juice to be a Wild Card team had Cousins not torn his Achilles.
Cousins has to hope the Vikings can add quality playmakers this offseason if the Vikings are going to have any shot of competing in a young NFC North division that will be stronger in 2024. Jefferson’s and Cousin’s contracts will complicate the Vikings’ salary cap next season.
According to Over The Cap, the Vikings have just over $37 million in cap space heading into the free agency period. Much of that $37 million will evaporate when Jefferson’s bill comes due.
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here!