The Minnesota Vikings are going to have to pay a hefty sum to retain Kirk Cousins this offseason. But one team insider believes they will do just that.

They could look to add his successor too.

“Minnesota isn’t likely to select one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the class, so it makes sense to bring back Cousins,” ESPN’s Kevin Siefert wrote on January 31. “So in this case, let’s re-sign him to a two-year, $85 million fully guaranteed extension. That gives the Vikings two years — until Cousins is 38 years old — to draft and develop his successor.”

Cousins completed 69.5% of his passes for 2,331 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in an injury-shortened 2023 campaign. The Vikings were just 4-4 with him under center this season.

However, they won four of his last five starts – including three straight – before he tore his Achilles in Week 8.

Kirk Cousins is ahead of schedule in his recovery from Achilles surgery and will be throwing in the next month or so.

What kind of payday could Cousins get when free agency kicks off in 44 days? @MarcRoss helped us break it down on The Insiders.

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— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 26, 2024

His one-year, $35 million contract expires this offseason.

Cousins will still carry a $28.5 million cap hit next season, even if he is not on the roster. The only way to lower that number is via an extension, adding to the incentive for Minnesota to entertain what could be a fully-guaranteed, $90 million contract when the bidding starts.

Vikings Projected to Draft Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy as Kirk Cousins’ Protege

The additional time to find Counsins’ eventual replacement helps. But Siefert doesn’t see them taking too long to make their first attempt.

He projects they land Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy with the No. 42 overall pick in the draft.

“The Vikings would be thrilled with this outcome, whether they get McCarthy via a trade up into the first round or by having him fall to them on Day 2,” Seifert wrote. “With the veteran under contract for the next couple of years in this scenario, the Vikings have a longer runway to develop McCarthy, who is 21 years old.”

McCarthy led Michigan to a championship after completing 72.3% of his passes for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Minnesota may not have the luxury of waiting to see if he falls to them, though.

ESPN’s Matt Miller projected him to the Vikings (with the No. 21 overall pick) in his preseason mock draft from August. Miller bumped McCarthy up to No. 7 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in his mock draft from December.

Fellow ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projected McCarthy at No. 16 to the Seattle Seahawks in his mock draft published on January 23.

Could the former Wolverine, McCarthy, be in play for the Vikings with the No. 11 overall pick?

Bo Nix Backup Plan

With $29.1 million in cap space, per Spotrac, and several other areas of the roster to address, the possibility the Vikings let Cousins walk cannot be ignored. An extension would cut into whatever cap space the Vikings can create this offseason or in future years.

Seifert notes that had Cousins walked in his hypothetical scenario, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix would have been the selection over McCarthy.

Nix completed 77.4% of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns, and three picks in 2023.

Whether it’s Nix or McCarthy, Siefert sees the Vikings addressing the quarterback position in addition to bringing Cousins back. It’s a system that has paid off the NFC North-rival Green Bay Packers.