We can just add void years to Kirk's contract

There is a way, though, that Cousins’ cap number for 2022 could be lowered by as much as $27.104 million without committing extra dollars to him. That could be accomplished by adding four voidable years to his contract to absorb additional money from 2022.

If Cousins were to agree to it, the Vikings could lower his base salary of $35 million in 2022 to as low as the NFL minimum contract amount of $1.12 million. Then they could pay immediately the remaining $33.88 million in a signing bonus that would be divided for cap purposes among 2022 and the four voidable years on his contract at $6.776 million per year. That would drop Cousins’ cap number in 2022 from $45.166 million to $18.062 million and would easily get them under the cap by Wednesday.

“He would have to cooperate for that, but if they were going to keep him for the year, I think he’d be fine doing that because it’s only going to benefit him if the team has better players there and he has a better chance to make the playoffs because he’s going to be a a free agent next year if he doesn’t make an extension,’’ said Jason Fitzgerald, a cap analyst who runs the website OvertheCap.com. “They could say, ‘We’ll give you a favorable date even on the void. We’ll give you five days after the Super Bowl, so you have clarity right away about doing an extension.’ … I think that’s a strong possibility if he’s going to remain on the team.”