‘Structure’ key for Cousins in returning to Vikings

EAGAN, Minn. — As he has approached the upcoming expiration of his contract, quarterback Kirk Cousins has made it clear that he hopes to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings. In turn, the team’s key decision-makers have said they are warm to the idea.

So as he cleaned out his locker Monday following the end of the team’s season, and with the likelihood that he could be the best quarterback available on the 2024 free agent market, Cousins was asked a question: Would he embrace a hometown discount if that’s ultimately what the Vikings seek?

“That’s a great question and one I’ve thought about pretty much my whole 12 years,” Cousins said. “I do think it’s important to be aware of. 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.”

Cousins has sought to set new paradigms each time he has faced an offseason without a new contract, from signing consecutive franchise tags in Washington for the 2016 and 2017 seasons to securing a fully guaranteed contract with the Vikings in 2018. But in saying Monday that he’ll consider factors other than finances, Cousins offered a revealing story on how he will view whatever the Vikings offer him.

“I had a coach who I was with who was a younger coach at the time,” Cousins said. “This was back eight, nine years ago, before my first franchise tag, and we were talking about the situation and he made a great comment. He said, ‘Kirk, it’s not about the dollars, but it is about what the dollars represent.’ I thought that was an interesting comment that he made. There will always be some of that.”

Ultimately, Cousins said, “structure is probably more important.” Asked his definition of “structure,” he said: “Everything that isn’t the dollars. That stuff you also work through.”

Asked to explain what he meant by “what the dollars represent,” Cousins said: “I think it’s inherent. When the coach said it to me, I didn’t really need it explained to me. I understood what he meant in that moment when he said that.”

Cousins’ current contract will automatically void in March, after the league’s franchise tag deadline. It has paid him an average of $35 million per season, which put him 15th among NFL quarterbacks in 2023. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had the highest average at $55 million, and 12 quarterbacks averaged at least $40 million per year.

Cousins was tied for the most touchdown passes (18) in the NFL and ranked second in passing yards (2,331) when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Week 8. In an interview shortly after, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was asked if he wanted Cousins back in 2024.

“I mean, Kirk played great,” Adofo-Mensah said at the time. “I think my want for Kirk to come back isn’t just a ‘me’ thing. You know, it’s a negotiation. You come together at the table, and you try and see if everything works together, and we’ll have that dialogue when the time comes.”

Cousins’ rehabilitation has progressed to the point where he accompanied the Vikings to Ford Field for their regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions. He said Monday that he is not worried about the impact of the injury on his marketability in free agency if it comes to that.

“I’m not going to try to sell myself, if you will,” Cousins said. “I kind of like to let people make their own decisions, because I do think the league needs quarterbacks, and if you’re trying to talk yourself out of a quarterback, then I can’t help you much. The Achilles is going to heal. And it’s on track, and I’m a pocket passer and there’s a lot of time before next season. For a lot of reasons, it doesn’t concern me, but if I can’t convince other people of that, then that’s OK.”

Players throughout the locker room have expressed genuine hope that Cousins re-signs with the Vikings, even while acknowledging the decision is not up to them. Receiver Justin Jefferson said last week that it would be a “perfect” scenario, while right tackle Brian O’Neill said he “one thousand million percent” hopes it happens, citing Cousins’ everyman story that so many players connect with.

“He wasn’t the first overall pick,” O’Neill said. “He’s not 6-8. He doesn’t run a 4.2. But he maximizes 100 percent of everything he’s given, and that story’s relatable for a lot of guys. Regardless of what everybody in the world, whatever they believe or whatever their purpose is or their moral compass or how they go about their life, their philosophy, I think people can look at Kirk and say, whatever his is, he lives that fully, 100 percent every day, and he’s more true to himself than most people I’ve ever met. He’s true to himself in his preparation and his belief, and he’s a baller and he’s really, really good. And I would love a chance to play with him again.”