Minnesota Vikings: 3 Offseason moves to return to playoffs next season

1. Extend Cousins and Cook

In the 2020 offseason, the organization should try its best to extend both quarterback Kirk Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook ahead of the 2020 campaign. Cousins and Cook both played large roles for Minnesota throughout the 2019 year and constantly feed into the successes, and sometimes the failures, of the Vikings offense as a whole during the course of the year.

With the 2019 season in the past and the 2020 year on the horizon, both players are entering contract years and the final seasons of their current contracts with the organization.

Before they reach free agency at this time next year, the Vikings should look go extend both of them now rather than waiting.

Cousins, who wrapped up his eighth season in the NFL and second season with the Vikings in 2019, signed a historic three-year, $84 million deal with Minnesota prior to the start of the 2018 season.

Throughout the year, the veteran quarterback put together one of the best — if not the best — seasons of his tenure in the NFL, helping propel a Vikings offense that is filled with firepower around him.

In 2020, Cousins will be entering the final year of that large deal, set to make nearly $30 million for Minnesota. Before the quarterback gets to the point of entering free agency, the Vikings should look to extend Cousins this offseason so they don’t have to worry about that following the 2020 year.

Cook, on the other hand, is an interesting player to try and extend, as he will likely ask to be compensated to an extend that will rank right at the top of the NFL among its highest-paid running backs.

While the running back managed to tally career-best numbers in 14 appearances in Minnesota in 2019, he will be entering the final season of his rookie contract this upcoming year and will likely demand a large contract moving forward.

In 2020, Cook is on slate to make a base salary of $1.3 million, although it’s very likely that he won’t appear on the field for the Vikings if he is still set to make that total as the regular season approaches.

Cousins and Cook are two important factors to the success of Minnesota week-in and week-out, and both are entering the final years of their contracts with the Vikings. That’s just another reason why the purple and gold should look to extend them this offseason rather than dealing with it at this time next year.