Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf was on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football Monday and had some interesting things to say about Kirk Cousins.
“Kirk’s an outstanding quarterback. He’s done a great job for us. This past season with Kevin O’Connell, took our offense to another level. We’re looking for great things in ’23 and Kirk’s going to be our leader on offense,” Wilf said.
Minnesota Vikings Owner & President Mark Wilf wakes up with GMFB to talk about some of our favorite names on the roster #SKOL @Vikings pic.twitter.com/zynr1Wv96T
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 13, 2023
Wilf mentioning Cousins being the leader of the offense in 2023 is significant because it suggests, at least at face value, that he plans on Cousins being the Vikings’ starting quarterback next season – his final year under contract with Minnesota.
But Wilf specifically saying Cousins is their guy in 2023 and not beyond could be taken as a signal that a contract extension isn’t in the works.
The Vikings sit about $7 million over the cap with just under 48 hours to get cap compliant. Extending Cousins would help the Vikings lower his 2023 cap hit, but NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Sunday that an extension is NOT imminent.
Per Garafolo, the Vikings are due to pay Cousins $15 million of a $20 million roster bonus on March 23. That’s essentially a “soft deadline” for an extension, according to Garafolo.
The other option with Cousins is to let him play out the final year of his deal without any future guarantees. Either that, or they go the nuclear route and trade him.
The Vikings have plenty of decisions to make over the next 48 hours and if Wilf was being honest on national television then Cousins will be the QB in 2023 while 2024 and beyond is up in the air.
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