EAGAN, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings are going all in on Kirk Cousins.
The Vikings agreed Monday to a two-year contract extension with the quarterback that a source said is worth $66 million. Cousins had one year left on his contract, so the deal takes him through the 2022 season.
Cousins signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract in 2018 that included a $29.5 million base salary and $31 million salary-cap number for 2020. A source said his extension includes $61 million of guaranteed money.
The source said the extension, which pushed some money to future seasons, clears $10 million of cap room and drops Cousins’ 2020 cap number to $21 million. That gives the Vikings, who entered Monday with about $16 million of cap room, additional flexibility to make moves.
The Vikings followed their agreement with Cousins by placing an $11.441 million franchise tag on safety Anthony Harris and agreeing to a four-year, $12.25 million contract extension with fullback C.J. Ham. Harris was in line to be an unrestricted free agent and Ham, who will get a $4 million salary in 2020, was in line to be restricted.
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Starting Monday, teams could make offers to representatives of free agents on other teams. The NFL’s new league year begins Wednesday when all players can sign new contracts.
The Vikings had been able to negotiate with Cousins. He is coming off a season in which he was fourth in the NFL in passer rating and led the Vikings to a 26-20 overtime win at New Orleans in a wild-card playoff game before they lost 27-10 at San Francisco in the divisional round.
