Cousins aims to retire with Vikings: 'I would like to play my way into that'

Kirk Cousins hopes his recent short-term extension is a precursor to a longer deal that allows him to finish his career with the Minnesota Vikings.

"I would like to retire as a Viking, and so I would like to play my way into that, if you will," Cousins told reporters Monday. "I know I gotta earn the right to do that, but if I could draw it up, it would be (to) play well enough that (I) never have to play or wear another jersey anywhere else."

Cousins inked a one-year, $35-million extension in March, tying him to the Vikings through the 2023 season. The new pact quieted speculation that Minnesota could trade him this offseason.

While the 33-year-old has been a stabilizing presence since signing with the Vikings in 2018, he's yet to engineer a deep playoff run. As a result, Cousins faces a murky future in Minnesota, which has a new general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and a rookie head coach in Kevin O'Connell.

"You earn it every day," Cousins said of the security he covets. "It's coming in now in OTAs and picking up the system quickly, learning the things we were taught today quickly so that you can build the next brick and just keep stacking 'em up and be consistent so that year after year, you're doing the things that it takes to be successful.

"That's staying healthy, that's playing at a high level, that's protecting the football, that's making plays. It's leading your teammates, it's playing with poise, with toughness - all the things it takes to be a great quarterback. It's doing them - not one time, not one season, not for a two-year, three-year run - it's doing it day after day after day. And you look back after, hopefully, double-digit years, and you say, 'Man, that was a great run.'"

Cousins has thrown 124 touchdowns with 36 interceptions over the last four seasons, but he's only led the Vikings to the playoffs once.