The clock is ticking on the Minnesota Vikings to decide on Kirk Cousins’ contract.

Fail to act by March 13 and the four-time Pro Bowler will hit free agency. He will leave behind a $28.5 million dead cap hit in his wake. But the Vikings are “confident” in their approach.

“My assessment of the situation is that they have a number that they are willing to extend and that if Kirk Cousins is able to find anything else that he likes better he is free to take it,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said on “The Paul Allen Show” on February 28. “They are very clear-eyed about it.

“They believe when the time comes for him to go see what else is out there, he will learn that whatever else is out there is not better. That the grass will not be greener in Atlanta or Las Vegas or back in Washington.”

Both sides have said they are open to a new contract.

But Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said Cousins deserves to bet on himself in free agency. And General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah entertained the idea of a small step back next season.

“Ultimately, taking a step back in the short term isn’t a big deal if you don’t think you’re actually close to [remaining competitive],” Adofo-Mensah said during his season-ending press conference on January 10. “And those are always the conversations we try and have and go about.”

Spotrac projects Cousins to command a deal worth $39.3 million annually.

Vikings Still Facing Cap Space Questions Beyond Kirk Cousins

The Vikings enter the offseason with $41 million in cap space following the announcement that Alexander Mattison would be released and before making any other cuts, restructures, or trades. That could be enough to sign Cousins. But it would leave the Vikings with little wiggle room.

And things could get even tighter if Cousins finds a team willing to go higher in dollar amount but he still gives the Vikings a chance to match.

There are also 13 teams with more cap space than the Vikings.

Four of those teams – the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, and Washington Commanders – have all been linked to Cousins at some point since the season ended.

A Commanders redux aside, Cousins has the strongest ties to the Falcons. He was with Head Coach Raheem Morris in Washington while his wife is from the area.

Vikings Linked to Drake Maye

The Vikings hired Josh McCown to be their new quarterbacks coach. The move also helped fuel rumors that the Vikings are eyeing a trade up in the draft to land a top quarterback prospect.

McCown coached presumed No. 2 quarterback prospect Drake Maye in high school.

Maye, 21, is one of the younger quarterback prospects in this class. It could make sense for the Vikings to bring back Cousins and move up to draft him. That would keep them in contention now and give them a new hope for the future.

At this point, there are far more reasons for the Vikings to bring Cousins back than to let him go. But it could come down to the structure of his contract.