There was speculation a year ago at this time whether Kirk Cousins would be back with the Vikings in 2022. Rick Spielman, who had signed Cousins to a rich free agent contract in 2018, had been fired as general manager and there was a feeling that a new GM and coach might want to go in a different direction.
That didn’t happen and first-year coach Kevin O’Connell won 13 games in his first season as Vikings’ coach in part because of Cousins’ regular-season success. Cousins also signed a one-year contract extension last March that almost certainly will put him under center with the Vikings in 2023.
But what is the plan beyond that?
The Vikings could sign Cousins to another extension in March, but at some point general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell have to start planning for the future. Cousins will be 35 in March and will carry a $36.3 million salary cap hit in 2023.
While the draft is an option, the Vikings also could look to a young quarterback who has yet to get a chance. That would be Marshall, Minn.-native Trey Lance, whom the San Francisco 49ers made the third-overall pick in the 2021 draft.
Here’s why Lance exploring the Lance option makes sense for the Vikings: