Kirk Cousins Doesn't Expect to Have Vikings Contract Talks Until March

Kirk Cousins is heading into the final year on his current contract, and the team shut down extension talks this spring, instead restructuring his deal.

Don't expect those talks to resume until next offseason.

"I think we'll probably talk about the contract next March," he told reporters Wednesday. "Until then, [we'll] just focus on this season and the job to do right now."

Cousins, 34, will earn $30 million in the 2023 season before hitting free agency.

As for why extension talks broke down, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gave some insight after April's draft, when the team selected BYU quarterback Jaren Hall in the fifth round.

"Sometimes you come to a place where you decide, 'Hey, let's talk later. This is a solution for now,'" he told reporters. "That's all that's happened."

Cousins, meanwhile, seems comfortable with playing out his contract and proving he should still be the team's quarterback going forward.

"I want to be in Minnesota," he told reporters in early May. "That's kind of a no-brainer. So, hopefully, we can earn the right to do that. I've always said that. When I say I would like to be in Minnesota, there are a lot of things I'd like to have. You've got to go earn it."

"In this league, there should never be entitlement," he added. "You've always got to go play, and teams can do whatever they want to do. That's their prerogative. You just go to work. You do the best you can. I'm encouraged and excited because I do feel like I've got a lot of good football ahead of me."

He had a solid 2022 season, throwing for 4,547 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 65.9 percent of his passes. The Vikings went 13-4 and reached the NFL playoffs, though lost to the New York Giants in disappointing fashion during the Wild Card round.

Still, it was a good enough season to earn him his fourth Pro Bowl nod. It may take a similar season to earn an extension in Minnesota.