Tom Pelissero: 'I Would Not Anticipate' Another One-Year Extension For Kirk Cousins
Ah, the annual Kirk Cousins debate.
This is the fourth consecutive offseason where questions and speculation have surrounded the future of the Vikings' veteran quarterback, who has just one playoff win in five years with Minnesota. In 2020, Rick Spielman's answer was a two-year extension for the player he signed two years earlier. A trade was always unlikely in 2021, but it was at least a discussion point. Last offseason, the Vikings' new regime signed Cousins to a one-year extension through the 2023 season.
Now, Cousins is set to enter the final season of his contract, meaning it's once again decision time for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Will he sign Cousins to another one-year extension, work out a long-term deal, or let him play out this season and start turning his focus towards a succession plan?
Well, we can likely rule out one of those three possibilities. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero recently said he doesn't think another one-year deal is going to happen.
"I would not anticipate that there's another one-year extension here," Pelissero said. "Either the Vikings and Kirk Cousins do a long-term extension that locks him up as their franchise quarterback, or, potentially, they keep their options open and let Cousins play out this existing deal."
That makes the decision even more fascinating. A long-term extension for Cousins is certainly an option after he led the Vikings to a 13-4 record in Kevin O'Connell's first season as head coach, but is that the right move? Cousins turns 35 this year and, at best, is still somewhere in the 10-13 range when it comes to quarterback rankings. Adofo-Mensah has to determine if giving him a big long-term deal is the best option for the Vikings, particularly with lucrative extensions coming up for players like Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson.
One benefit of a Cousins extension would be creating cap room for this offseason, but the Vikings can also easily do that without extending Cousins. They have plenty of other avenues to create cap space, and they could even convert some of Cousins' base salary or roster bonus into signing bonus money and prorate it over the two void years in his contract.
The other option isn't perfect either. If the Vikings do nothing with Cousins' contract this offseason, they could lose him for nothing more than a compensatory draft pick next spring. And then who's their quarterback? If that's going to be the plan, the Vikings would ideally draft one of the top QBs this year...but they have the 23rd overall pick and no second-rounder to use in a theoretical deal to move up.
A Cousins trade — perhaps for someone like Trey Lance — is also a potential option, but that comes with dead cap ramifications in addition to questions about whether or not it's the right long-term move.
Adofo-Mensah's decision on Cousins is one of the biggest things to watch during this Vikings offseason. All we know, for now, is that another one-year extension is unlikely. It's time for the Vikings to pick a side: Either go all-in on Cousins long-term or start planning for a future without him.
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