NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero believes his words about Kirk Cousins and how his contract situation plays out with the Minnesota Vikings have been taken out of context.
“There were some tweets going around claiming that I said something on TV that I didn’t really say, which was that the Vikings aren’t interested in a one-year extension with Kirk Cousins. Definitely didn’t say that. Something got twisted,” said Pelissero during an interview with KFAN’s Paul Allen from the NFL Combine this week.
“You could do a one-year extension, which is what they did last year. I don’t think, my opinion, that makes a lot of sense to do at this point. So do you do a longer-term type of an extension, or does Kirk just play it out for $30 million? That’s what they’ve gotta work through here. Is there an extension that makes sense for all parties here? If not, does Kirk just play out the deal? That’s what they’ve gotta figure out.”
Let’s rewind to a segment last weekend that aired on NFL Now. Pelissero said he doesn’t “anticipate” a one-year agreement between the Vikings and Cousins. He never said the Vikings aren’t interested in a one-year extension.
“I would not anticipate that there’s another one-year extension here. 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,” he said.
Pelissero on Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Cook
“They’d like to extend him,” Pelissero told Allen when speaking about edge rusher Danielle Hunter. That comment piggybacked on his comments on NFL Now when he said Minnesota “would like to work out an extension.”
“He’s only under contract this year for about $5.5 million. Obviously, it’s very difficult to see Danielle Hunter playing for that type of money coming off a 10.5-sack season. He’s still only 28 years old. Someone, at some point, is going to give him big money,” said Pelissero. “You’re talking about a massive money extension for an edge rusher who is still in his prime. Ideally, the Vikings would like to work out an extension there. If those talks are not productive, we’ll see where the Vikings go.”
As for running back Dalvin Cook, Pelissero said he’d be “surprised” if Cook playing for Minnesota in 2023.
“I’d be surprised if he’s not a Viking,” he told Allen. “He’s got $2 million that becomes fully guaranteed next week. He’s coming off shoulder surgery so that money’s locked in already. I would anticipate that he’s absolutely on the team.”
Cook’s 2023 cap hit currently sits at $14.1 million (6.4% of the team’s total salary cap, the highest percentage of Cook’s 5-year deal). If the Vikings cut or trade him before June 1, they’d save roughly $8 million against the cap. If they wait until after June 1, they’d save about $9 million (per OverTheCap).
