Nothing has changed. Kirk Cousins wants to finish his career with the Vikings.
But herein lies the problem: He’s not under contract beyond the 2023-24 season and he still feels like he has a lot of football left in him.
It’s clear that Cousins would like a contract extension – and that remains a possibility – but he’s focused on proving his worth despite being an established veteran who has thrown for 153 touchdowns in 80 starts since joining the Vikings in 2018.
“I think everybody’s gotta do their due diligence,” Cousins said Wednesday when asked about the Vikings not extending him yet. “I’m looking forward to this year and wanting to go out there and prove it again, do it again and play at the highest level I can. That’s really where my focus is.”
Cousins said all the right things. Instead of focusing on what he’s done in the past he said “Nobody can operate with entitlement or comfort and put in less than their best.”
“Teams can do whatever they want to do. That’s their prerogative. You just go to work, do the best you can. I’m encouraged and excited because I do think I have a lot of good football ahead of me. Gotta go out there and earn that, but I feel positive about the future looking forward,” he said.
Cousins threw for 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season. and completed 65.9% of his attempts for a 92.5 passer rating.
“This is my fourth time in this league going into a season with free agency on the horizon,” he added. “It’s more the norm than the exception. I think the exception is that you have something penciled in for future years. Most of our locker room has no idea what’s coming in three or four months, let alone three or four years or next year. I feel like I’m one of the guys, if you will. We’re all in this together and that’s the way this league works.”
Amid the uncertainty, Cousins doesn’t want to think about playing elsewhere in 2024.
“No, I want to be in Minnesota. That’s kind of a no-brainer. Hopefully we can earn the right to do that,” Cousins said. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to have but you gotta go earn that.”
