Kirk Cousins Might Be Staying With The Minnesota Vikings, After All

Kirk Cousins was scheduled to be one of the biggest names on the free agent market for the coming off-season. His contract is an expiring one, and after six years as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, it appeared as though his time with the team was coming to a close. But as the team looks to spread their money around and perhaps get cheaper at the QB position, Cousins could be willing to take a discount to remain with the team.

Kirk Cousins Could Take A Discount To Stay With Vikings

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Vikings QB Kirk Cousins appears to be open to the idea of taking a “hometown discount” to stay in Minnesota, via @espn

“I think that God has blessed me financially beyond my wildest dreams. So at this stage in my career, the dollar are really not what it’s… pic.twitter.com/b6qry95AKK

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) January 8, 2024

Never considered one of the elite pass throwers in the league, Cousins has been one of the most consistent at the position over the last 8+ years. Coming into 2023, he had thrown for 4000+ yards in 7 of the last 8 seasons, and hadn’t thrown fewer than 25 touchdowns since 2014. He was well on his way to putting up similar (if not better) numbers this past season, but an Achilles tear ended his season prematurely, and many thought, his career with the Vikings.

But in an interview with ESPN, Cousins hinted that he might be willing to take less money than he would receive on the free agent market to remain in Minnesota. When asked if he would be willing to take a hometown discount, he said the following:

I think that God has blessed me financially beyond my wildest dreams. So at this stage in my career, the dollars are really not what it’s about.

He certainly isn’t short on cash. Kirk Cousins has signed multiple, shorter-term contracts throughout his career to maximize his current cash flow, and has accumulated over $231,000,000 so far in his 12-year NFL career.

Cousins Could Be Looking More For Stability Than Cash

Kirk Cousins spending time with some @Vikings fans before the final game of the regular season 🙏 pic.twitter.com/8hNd9WkECg

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 7, 2024

Cousins will be 36-years old at the start of the next NFL season, and he may be looking more for stability and the chance to build a Super Bowl contender late in his career rather than chase the next big pay day.

It would be a serious help for the Vikings in the short term. They are of course looking to get cheaper at the position, but Cousins returning would mean that they could put off the chase for a young prospect for at least a couple of years, and allocate their resources to different areas of the roster.

Cousins played in 8 games this past season, and threw for 2,331 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Vikings were 5-5 in games that he started, and 2-5 in games that he didn’t.