As the Minnesota Vikings continue to build a coaching staff in anticipation of hiring Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell as their next head coach, they have made at least one key roster decision this offseason.
According to NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, the Vikings are planning to keep quarterback Kirk Cousins for another season.
Cousins is due a fully-guaranteed salary of $35 million for the 2022 season, which comes with a hefty $45 million cap number. Should the Vikings decide to keep Cousins beyond next season the price would hike dramatically, making it very likely that he will play out his final season in Minnesota in 2022, as a franchise tag on Cousins for 2023 could come with a price tag of around $64.8 million, due to the fact that he was franchise tagged twice during his time with Washington.
The Vikings could negotiate a contract extension with Cousins, but it appears more likely that they will opt to develop a young quarterback and open cap space rather than continue to invest in Cousins.
