Kirk Cousins wants to finish career with Vikings

It hasn’t been a banner year for Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. Still, the quarterback says that he has every intention of staying in Minnesota.

“[I] certainly want to be a Minnesota Viking for the rest of my career,” Cousins said this week (via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).

Of course, that’s not necessarily up to Cousins, who remains under contract through 2022. The Vikings don’t have much say in the matter, either — the 33-year-old (34 in August) is due a fully-guaranteed salary of $35M next season with an eye-popping cap hit of $45M.

Cousins’ stats have been solid since joining the Vikings in 2018, but he’s taken the team to the playoffs just once (2019) in four years. Meanwhile, in the regular season, he owns a 32-29-1 record as the Vikes’ starter.

“Certainly disappointed whenever you’re not playing in the playoffs,” Cousins said. “But really my focus is on the Bears right now and I don’t think a lot about the big picture. There’s plenty of time to do that in the offseason. … When we get to the offseason, get this thing behind us, you have time to evaluate and work through it more.”

No matter what, the Vikings will have to do something about Cousins’ contract given their cap situation. Ultimately, a cap-smoothing extension seems far more likely than a trade or anything else.