The team needed a lesser salary cap hit for 2020
Cousins called the contract extension a win-win earlier this offseason.
That’s because Cousins can stay in Minnesota and lessen the cap hit for 2020. Tom Pelissero of NFL.com first reported the deal cleared $10 million in 2020 cap space. His cap number for 2020 was just $21 million.
That helped the Vikings sign defensive tackle Michael Pierce, and it’s hard to sign all the draftees they took if they had limited cap space.
Cousins earned a new deal with his play, and helped the Vikings in the short-term by taking a relatively low cap hit for 2020. Overall, it was a good move, by the front office, for Kirk Cousins and for the betterment of the team.