According to a report from NFL Media, the Vikings want to re-sign veteran QB Kirk Cousins to an extension this year, however, they are planning contingencies.
Even coming off a torn Achilles at 36 years old, Cousins is expected to have a serious market for his services and the Vikings can’t use the franchise tag to keep him off the market.
NFL Media says Minnesota is developing contingency plans in case Cousins becomes too expensive to keep. In that scenario, the Vikings would likely pivot to a cheap veteran in the hopes of finding the next Baker Mayfield or Geno Smith.
The report says 49ers QB Sam Darnold is among the names to know who fit that category, and the former No. 3 overall pick just spent a season in a similar system to what Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell runs.
NFL Media adds the Vikings would likely look to draft a quarterback in that scenario as well. They have the No. 11 pick in the first round and have been mentioned as a team to watch in a potential trade up the board, though the cost for that would likely be significant as well.
Cousins, 35, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons.
Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.
He’s in the final year of that deal in 2023 and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
In 2023, Cousins appeared in eight games for the Vikings and completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Darnold, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2018. He was in the final year of a four-year, $30.370 million rookie contract when he was traded to the Panthers.
Carolina exercised Darnold’s fifth-year option for 2022 after acquiring him from New York. He made a base salary of $18.858 million in 2022 under the option.
Darnold was an unrestricted free agent for the first time this offseason when he signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers.
In 2023, Darnold appeared in 10 games with one start and completed 28-46 of his pass attempts (60.6 percent) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown.
We’ll have more on the Vikings QB situation as the news is available.
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