The Minnesota Vikings signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a one-year, $1.3 million veteran minimum contract this offseason. That deal exists at that number for a specific reason: Murray still has offsets from his previous contract with the Arizona Cardinals, who will pay him $35.5 million this year. If the Vikings added new money to Murray’s 2026 payroll, it would diminish those offsets, and Murray wouldn’t actually receive any extra cash. The Cardinals simply wouldn’t pay that amount.

So what happens if Murray establishes himself as the starting quarterback and plays well into the regular season? There’s a path for Minnesota to extend his deal without touching this year’s money, and it’s connected to something a quarterback Vikings fans know well already did this offseason.

The Kirk Cousins blueprint

Kirk Cousins signed a contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in a similar situation. Cousins also had offsets from the Atlanta Falcons, but he ended up getting more money than Murray because he signed a two-year deal where the second year is set to void. The structure kept his 2026 base salary at the veteran minimum of $1.3 million, then added a $10 million roster bonus due on the third league day of 2027.

There’s also a poison pill in the Cousins deal: a $78.655 million salary for 2028 becomes fully guaranteed by the fifth league day of 2027. That means the Raiders will inevitably pay the roster bonus, which is guaranteed for Cousins next year, but they will then be obligated to either extend him, find a new deal, or release him by that date.

That’s the trick. Cousins guaranteed his $10 million roster bonus, but he won’t necessarily play under that contract for Las Vegas. He’ll receive that money because of his value in 2026. He won’t receive it now, though, because by keeping his 2026 salary at the minimum, the Falcons will still pay his current amount, and then the Raiders pay him more in 2027.

How the Vikings can apply this to Murray

The Vikings can do something similar to extend Murray, because Arizona’s offset language with the quarterback mentioned cash “earned from respective football club during the unexpired term covered by this conditional guarantee.” That means the offset will only apply to cash Murray receives in 2026. For argument’s sake, consider a three-year, $105 million contract at $35 million per year between the Vikings and Murray. Minnesota can extend Murray’s contract and push everything into the future, starting in 2027 and going through 2029 in this example, with guarantees implied in that structure.

The only difference is that the Vikings couldn’t give Murray a signing bonus. That money would count and start hitting the cap immediately, which would affect the Cardinals’ offsets. What Minnesota could do instead is build the extension around pure base salary and roster bonuses starting in 2027. That portion of the salary could even be transformed into a restructure bonus or signing bonus next year, but not now.

For the Vikings, securing Murray would make sense if he’s playing well. For the quarterback, there’s the downside of not reaching free agency. But he’s eliminating the risk of an injury affecting his value down the stretch.

Extension rules allow it

There is a common misunderstanding that a player cannot sign two consecutive extensions with a team in a 12-month period. A player is allowed to sign a contract extension while playing under a one-year contract, though, so the Vikings have the ability to give Murray a new deal this year despite having just signed him this offseason.

Murray’s contract includes a no-franchise tag clause, so the Vikings don’t have the option to apply the franchise tag and then negotiate an extension next offseason. Finding a contract extension with Murray before free agency would be more impactful in this scenario, helping the Vikings manage their cap situation far more effectively and with more leverage.

Now it’s a matter of how well Murray plays for the Vikings, how important he becomes for the franchise’s mid-term future, and how willing Minnesota is to give him that contract extension to avoid him reaching the open market next offseason.

How Murray can earn a new deal

The addition of Murray was multi-faceted. After a catastrophic season of quarterback play ended with the Vikings being 9-8, they needed to fix it.

Murray doesn’t have to do exactly as Sam Darnold did, but if he plays well and the Vikings are successful, it’d going to be a near slam dunk they will be aggressive in negotiating an extension. The Wilf’s are not reactionary people when it comes to moving on from personnel, but making a course correction is certainly in their wheelhouse.

After seeing Darnold win a Super Bowl one year after winning 14 games in Minnesota, it would be a surprise to see him leave for anyone else.