Vikings Still Interested In Re-Signing Kirk Cousins In 2024

According to Ian Rapoport, the Vikings are interested in bringing back QB Kirk Cousins in 2024 if possible. 

The veteran quarterback was in the final year of his contract and has a clear shot at unrestricted free agency in 2024, as Minnesota cannot use the franchise tag to keep him. 

Rapoport says other QB-needy teams have been operating under the assumption that Cousins will be available.

However, Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell has raved about how well Cousins was playing before tearing his Achilles. Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said “all options are on the table” when it comes to Cousins this offseason. 

Per Rapoport, that includes re-signing Cousins and using a draft pick on a young quarterback for the future. 

Another factor is that Cousins won’t be healthy enough to pass a physical in March, but the Vikings’ team doctor is the one who performed the surgery to reconstruct his Achilles, giving Minnesota a little bit of a leg up in terms of comfort with Cousins’ progress this offseason. 

There should still be plenty of teams interested in Cousins given the state of the quarterback position around the league, so the veteran will have options. It’s clear that returning to the Vikings is still very much in play, however. 

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.

We’ll have more on Cousins as the news is available.