4 Vikings players who could be gone after the 2021 season

Kirk Cousins – QB

Where Kirk Cousins ends up for the 2022 season is going to be something a lot of people will be paying attention to.

Whether Cousins plays for the Vikings past 2021 is really going to depend on how he performs during the upcoming season. If he goes out and puts up some career-best numbers while helping Minnesota win at least one playoff game, then an extension for him in 2022 is something that should be expected.

But if Cousins continues to have the same production he’s had during the last few years and the Vikings miss out on the postseason again, then it wouldn’t be shocking if the team looked to move on from him next year.

Cutting him in 2022 wouldn’t save Minnesota a dime, so they would likely look into finding a trade partner. And before you can finish asking who would ever want to make a deal for Cousins, just know that Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, and Teddy Bridgewater have all been traded since 2019.

Minnesota’s replacement for Cousins might not be on the team’s roster yet. But the Vikings made it pretty clear with their third-round selection of Kellen Mond in this year’s NFL Draft that they’re starting to prepare for a possible life without Cousins in the near future.