Vikings GM Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer explain why team extended QB Kirk Cousins

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Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins finally squashed the narrative that he can’t win a playoff game, having gone into New Orleans and defeated the Saints in the Wild Card Playoffs just a few months ago, and now the team is rewarding him.

Cousins got that weight off his back, and he’s being paid as such. The three-year, $84 million deal he received when he initially landed in Minnesota was a nice starting point, and the team is now building on it. Cousins was entering the final year of his contract, and they’re already killing any talk about whether or not they’d be committed to him in 2021.

The Vikings and Cousins agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $66 million, so it’s clear he’s not going anywhere, despite the rumors about 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan possibly being interested in reuniting with him in San Francisco.

Some critics believe that Cousins still hasn’t done enough to warrant the big payday, so Vikings general manager Rick Spielman explained why the team made the move.

“Kirk has proven he’s one of the top quarterbacks in this league and has continued to improve and progress each day since he arrived here,” Spielman said, via NFL.com.

Head coach Mike Zimmer weighed in as well.

“I thought he did a great job of understanding the scheme and what we’re trying to do with each game plan,” he said. “I thought he studied his rear end off, as far as trying to get prepared each and every week, and I thought the coaches did a great job with him. We’re looking for him to continue to get better and keep going forward with him.”

The Vikings have clearly decided Cousins is the franchise quarterback of the future that they can build around.

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