Without a contract for the first time in six years, Kirk Cousins has said the idea of a ‘hometown discount’ is something he’s “thought of pretty much [his] whole 12 years.”
The Vikings’ tumultuous 2023 campaign came to a merciful end Sunday in Detroit as the new NFC North champs put the final nail in the purple’s coffin in a 30-20 win. With the final whistle being blown on Minnesota’s season comes a look ahead to one of the most important offseason in franchise history.
Cousins and the organization failed to come to terms on an extension last offseason which means the veteran QB could be hitting free agency for the first time since 2018. With his age, recovery from a torn Achilles, Minnesota’s need for cap flexibility, and the No. 11 overall pick in the draft loaded with QB talent, the Vikings have a lot to weigh when deciding which direction to go with Cousins.
For Cousins, it’s simple. He wants to be where he can win.
“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,” said Cousins as he addressed Twin Cities media during Monday’s locker clean out day.
Cousins said he has a “long list” of things he looks for in a contending team.
“I think it’s you need great leadership, you need to stay healthy, you need to draft well, you need to sign some impactful free agents even if they’re not the big-name free agents.”
On the idea he could take a ‘hometown discount’ to stay in Minnesota, Cousins said, “I think God has blessed me financially beyond my wildest dreams, so at this stage in my career, the dollars are really not what it’s about.”
“I had a coach who I was with, who was a younger coach at the time, this was back eight, nine years ago, before my first franchise tag, and we were talking about the situation and he made a great comment and he said, ‘Kirk, it’s not about the dollars, but it is about what the dollars represent.’ I thought that was an interesting comment that he made. There will always be some of that, but at today’s point, structure is probably more important,” Cousins said.
When asked what he meant by ‘structure’ Cousins replied: “Everything that isn’t the dollars, so that’s stuff you also work through.”
Before his season-ending Achilles injury in Week 8, Cousins was in the midst of another career year under second-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. In 25 games with O’Connell as his head coach, Cousins was 17-8 while throwing for 6,878 yards, 47 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
Now with the Achilles injury adding questions to his future ability, the 35-year-old will have to provide answers when meeting with the Vikings, and perhaps with other suitors if he reaches free agency in mid-March.
“Yeah, I am not going to try to sell myself, if you will,” said Cousins when asked how he’ll address the injury concerns. “I kind of like to let people make their own decisions, because I do think the league needs quarterbacks. If you are trying to talk yourself out of a quarterback, then I can’t help you much. The Achilles is going to heal. It is on track, and I am a pocket passer and there is a lot of time before next season. So, for a lot of reasons, it doesn’t concern me, but I can’t convince other people that, and that is okay.”
As for his mindset entering free agency for the first time since 2018, Cousins said he’s not approaching it any differently now than he did back then.
“There is many, many variables,” said Cousins about finding the right fit. “You ultimately just want to try and find a fit that makes the most sense and also where you feel the most peace.”
Cousins’ departure isn’t set in stone. O’Connell has been vocal throughout the year of how he feels about Cousins, so too have his teammates, including star receiver Justin Jefferson and right tackle Brian O’Neill.
Brian O’Neill on whether he wants Kirk Cousins back: “Absolutely. Absolutely. One thousand million percent. I’d tell anybody that. 10,000 percent. I’d rather have nobody else than Kirk under center for us.” pic.twitter.com/4QbrhE87Kc
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) January 8, 2024
If Cousins were to return he would start the 2024 season at the age of 36. Not many QBs play that deep into their 30s, leaving the prospect that the Vikings re-sign Cousins and still use No. 11 overall pick to draft their QB of the future.
“Yeah, I think every year in a sense in my career there is always that potential of a new quarterback being brought in,” Cousins replied when asked about the prospect of mentoring his replacement. “There is always a succession plan. I don’t think you can do your job as a leader of an organization without saying, ‘What is our succession plan? What do we have down the pipeline?’ That is just being responsible. Due diligence. Whether it was Nate Sudfeld being drafted in Washington, Kellen Mond, Jaren Hall, there is always going to be that dynamic of what is our plan moving forward. The contract timing tends to be done in March and the draft is in late April, so you kind of do one before the other. It won’t really matter what happens in April, because once I sign my contract, that is done in March and what’s done is done.”
The veteran QB said it was “difficult to articulate” how it felt to clear out his locker in Minnesota for what could be the last time.
“You deal with it every year. Some years it feels better, other years it feels worse. . . We are all aware of the way this league works and how this day always tends to carry with it a sense of change, of a reset, or of completion. I think it was important to just complete our circles, as my college coach would always say, and just finish this year strong the best you can and know a new circle now has to get drawn.”
