Vikings Urged to Extend 4-Time Pro Bowler Amid Slew of Expected Cuts

Getty General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings talks to reporters during a press conference to introduce Kevin O'Connell as the new head coach at TCO Performance Center on February 17, 2022 in Eagan, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Vikings must figure a way to achieve addition by subtraction this offseason, though a few players are still expected to earn big-money extensions.

One such player is Kirk Cousins, who is in position to back into his fourth deal with the Vikings over the last six years. The quarterback’s contract extensions have been polarizing each time they’ve come up, but have also proven the best choice out of a handful of difficult options. Cousins is again in a position to cash in with the Vikings despite a regression in on-field counting statistics in 2022 and heaps of blame for the disappointing and anti-climactic end to the team’s home playoff loss to the New York Giants over Wild Card Weekend.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert authored what amounted to a pros and cons column on Minnesota’s quarterback conundrum on Thursday, February 9. Ultimately, his conclusion was the same one at which the franchise has arrived three times previously over the last five years — sign Cousins, even if doing so again may mean a little pain on the salary cap sheet and an eye roll or two among the Vikings faithful.