Vikings' Kirk Cousins Calls 2-Year, $66M Contract Extension 'A No-Brainer'

Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings agreed to a two-year extension worth $66 million in mid-March, and the 31-year-old quarterback is pleased with the deal nearly a month later.

"It was a no-brainer to be back with the Vikings and find a way to make it work," Cousins told reporters Tuesday.

Cousins had signed a record three-year contract in March 2018:

"Cousins had one year left on his current deal—a historic three-year, fully guaranteed contract signed in March 2018—and was due a $29.5 million base salary for 2020, which becomes $10 million on his new deal," ESPN's Courtney Cronin relayed last month.

Cousins added Tuesday that he was glad to create cap space for the Vikings.

The 2012 fourth-round pick covered several other topics, such as the Vikings' decision to trade wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills last month:

Minnesota also lost veteran cornerbacks Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Mackensie Alexander, among others, during free agency.

The Vikings finished last season 10-6 and upset the 13-3 New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round. The 26-20 overtime win over the Saints marked Cousins' first career playoff win.

It was a small victory for Cousins, who previously held an 0-15 record against opponents with a .700 winning percentage or better, 2-10 record against playoff teams and 0-9 Monday Night Football record (h/t Cronin).

"I'm just glad Kirk can't win big games, apparently," Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Cousins against the Saints, said afterward. "I think we proved that one wrong today."

There will still be lingering questions that follow the two-time Pro Bowler into 2020 despite his big playoff performance, but the Vikings remain committed to him. While Diggs is a major loss for Minnesota's offense, Cousins will still have Rudolph, running back Dalvin Cook and wideout Adam Thielen to work with.

Cousins finished the 2019 regular season with 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 69.1 percent of his passes. His 58.4 adjusted total quarterback rating ranked 13th in the league, per ESPN.