Last year, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said he wasn’t inclined to re-do his contract with the team before it expired after the 2022 season. The expected hiring of Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell could change that.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Cousins plans to let things play out for a bit before deciding whether to extend his deal. However, the looming arrival of O’Connell is viewed as a positive, from Cousins’s perspective.
Cousins has a fully-guaranteed salary of $35 million for 2022. With a cap number of $45 million this year and given that he was franchise-tagged twice before by Washington, it would cost the Vikings $64.8 million to keep Cousins off the open market in 2023.
If the Vikings want to keep him, and if he has a big season with O’Connell, it could get very expensive for the Vikings. Thus, Cousins continues to hold the cards.