Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson stopped by the PFT Live set on Wednesday to discuss his future with the team as he nears the end of his rookie contract, and it was quarterback Kirk Cousins’ turn to do the same thing on Friday.
While Jefferson is under contract for 2024, Cousins is on track for free agency this March.
Cousins appeared on the show with Vikings receiver K.J. Osborn, who is also set for free agency this offseason, and both players said they’d like to keep building what felt like an "ascending team" before Cousins tore his Achilles, but Osborn noted that those decisions are out of their hands.
"When it gets to February and March, now we kind of are passive."
Cousins said he feels he’s a
"much better quarterback at 36" because of how much his mental game has grown over the course of his career and that he’d like to follow the lead of players like Tom Brady and Drew Brees by playing "several more years."
The place he’ll be playing will be one of the big storylines of the offseason.
"It’s really a March conversation."
Quarterback @KirkCousins8’s has yet to decide on his future plans.
📻: https://t.co/iV8CXYnPPX pic.twitter.com/XNIj3aQkoH
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) February 9, 2024
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been itching to get back onto the football field since tearing his Achilles during his team"s Week 8 victory over the Packers.
“This was my first ever surgery of my life, so there was a lot that was unknown and new, but it"s been a positive process,"
Cousins said.
“We are two and a half months in since surgery, and I kind of kept waiting for the setback or the frustration with the rehab, but it"s been a positive experience. But I"m excited [about] getting out the other side and playing next season. I"ll probably appreciate playing more than I ever have before."
Vikings fans were left wondering “what if" after Cousins" injury, especially after Minnesota picked up the fifth-year option on 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson"s contract.
“We"ve played together for four seasons, and you feel like every year you get to know your teammates better and better, so we"ve built a great rapport,"
Cousins said.
“I"m blessed to get to play with so many great players."
Cousins is set to hit free agency in March, and while he could return to Minnesota, he could also be looking for a new team.
A lot of uncertainties surrounding Cousins" future remain, but the four-time Pro Bowler will have the same goals no matter where he ends up playing next season: Successfully healing his Achilles, and then competing at the highest level and biggest stage possible.
“I certainly want to play a few more years of football, so I"m hoping that the remaining years left before me and my football career that I won"t be sitting around watching playoff football, but that I"ll be playing playoff football,"
Cousins said.
“That"s certainly a goal up ahead."
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason, and his return to the Vikings has not been confirmed.
However, Cousins doesn"t seem concerned about the situation and is just waiting for things to take shape over the next month.
“That"s kind of our attitude,"
Cousins said during a PFT Live appearance. In February and March, I will be more passive than now.
Cousins first joined the Vikings as a free agent in 2018. Cousins was on track to have the best year of his career last season, but unfortunately, he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 8, ending his season.
Cousins will be 36 at the beginning of next season and is recovering from a serious injury. So, it"s understandable why the Vikings would be a little hesitant to give him a new contract.
We"ll need to wait until March to know what the Kirk Cousins situation will be.
