Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is unsure where he will be playing his football next season as he prepares to enter discussions over his future with the organisation.
Cousins is currently set to hit free agency upon the expiry of his contract later this offseason unless the Vikings elect to offer him a new deal.
The 35-year-old missed action due to injury for the first time in his career this season after suffering a year-ending torn Achilles against the Green Bay Packers in Week Eight.
Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall all subsequently spent time under center as Minnesota finished missed out on the playoffs after a 7-10 finish.
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Cousins leads Vikings fans in the ‘SKOL’ chant ahead of their game against the Green Bay Packers
“Many people who ask including friends and family are surprised conversations don’t really begin until March,” Cousins told Sky Sports NFL.
“I would love to know where I’m going, I would love to get those conversations going now, but I’m just sitting at home watching the playoffs and don’t have much going on apart from rehab.
“But I really have to wait until the first couple of weeks in March to begin those conversations. I’m just waiting it out and time will tell as those final head-coaching vacancies fill, and teams start to decide how they want to draft and handle free agency, and we’ll start to figure out – including my own team, the Vikings – where I’m going to end up.
“But we’ll have to wait.”
Cousins remains in recovery following his Achilles injury, having endured an indifferent second half of the season on the sidelines as, typically, one of the NFL’s most durable quarterbacks.
He is eyeing a return to the field by training camp, at the latest.
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Highlights from the Detroit Lions against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game
“I didn’t realise it was torn until my center helped me get up and I started walking to the sideline,” Cousins added. “It was a difficult moment, but the real difficult moment was having to watch games on Sundays.
“It was such a strange feeling to be out of action and watching the playoffs now can be difficult too. But the healing process has been great, it’s been a steady upward trend and I feel like I’ll be ready to go hopefully by OTA practices this spring, if not by training camp, and just take it a day at a time until then.”
Cousins had completed 216 of 311 passes for 2,331 yards and 18 touchdowns to five interceptions while starting the season 4-4 prior to his injury against the Packers. He signed in Minnesota in free agency in 2018 and has since led the team to the playoffs on two occasions, falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round in 2019 and suffering a shock Wild Card defeat to the New York Giants last season.