When sports teams face a tight budget, one of the more common phrases heard from some fans calls for athletes to take a pay cut to help field a more competitive roster. The Minnesota Vikings are no different, as they have yet to win a Super Bowl and have run into several salary cap issues.

Well, apparently, Kirk Cousins tried to take a pay reduction for this upcoming season, but the Vikings weren’t willing to do it, Andrew Buller-Russ of Sportsnaut reports.

According to Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer, Cousins was open to reducing his 2023 cap number, but only if the Vikings re-committed to him for the next three years.

“I had also heard that he wasn’t asking for $40 [million]. He wasn’t asking for that much, in terms of what Daniel Jones got, who is obviously much younger but much less accomplished. Cousins’ camp was kind of surprised I guess, from what I heard, at the Vikings not jumping or at accepting what they were asking for.”

Vikings insider on Kirk Cousins’ contract negotiations with Minnesota (H/T to Minnesota Sports Fan)

As we know now, the Vikings didn’t bite at what Cousins was offering. With that, the 34-year-old QB is now entering a contract year.

There’s no telling what the Vikings have in mind for their future QB, but if they’re truly willing to consider walking away from Cousins at the end of the season, they will need to address the position in some capacity this offseason. Backup Nick Mullens is the only other quarterback on the roster.

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