Price tag for possible Kirk Cousins extension might have been revealed

If the Minnesota Vikings are considering giving an extension to quarterback Kirk Cousins this year, how much might it cost for the team?

When it comes to figuring out what to do with quarterback Kirk Cousins this year, the Minnesota Vikings have a few options. In the end though, it all comes back to the same three possibilities. The Vikings can trade Cousins, give him an extension, or figure out a way to just let him play out the final year of his current contract.

If Minnesota approaches the veteran quarterback about a possible contract extension, what sort of deal will the signal-caller be looking for?

Will Cousins be willing to take less money to help the Vikings improve other areas of their roster, or will he be looking to make as much cash as he possibly can?

An extension for Kirk Cousins could end up costing the Minnesota Vikings $40 million per year

This offseason, Minnesota will not be the only team in the NFL making a decision about a veteran quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders will also be attempting to figure out how much longer they want to roll with Derek Carr as their starting signal-caller.

Like Cousins, Carr’s current contract is set to expire in 2023, so he’s likely hoping to get an extension from the Raiders before he becomes a free agent in a year.

However, a contract extension for the Las Vegas quarterback isn’t expected to be cheap by any means. In fact, an extension for Carr could cost the Raiders around $40 million per season according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore on Tuesday.

With most believing Cousins is a similar quarterback to Carr, if not better, this $40 million per year price tag is probably going to be close to what the Vikings passer will be looking to make from an extension as well.

If that actually does end up being close to what Cousins is looking to make per season, then it’s hard to imagine Minnesota’s new regime being okay with paying the veteran quarterback that kind of cash.

The Vikings are already in a bit of salary cap trouble and increasing Cousins’ yearly salary isn’t going to make things any easier when it comes to trying to fix the holes in the team’s roster.

An extension that pays Cousins $40 million per season doesn’t help Minnesota get closer to greatness, it only prevents them from being terrible