INDIANAPOLIS — Kirk Cousins is really good at this part. Like, among the best in the NFL. If there was a Hall of Fame for the business side, he would get in on the first ballot.

Since being selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, Cousins has earned more than $230 million in total, often helping reset the market for quarterbacks during the negotiation process.

It raises the question with Cousins set to become a free agent next month: How much are the Vikings going to have to spend to keep him on the roster?

Conversations at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week will go a long way in answering that question.

There will almost certainly be contact made between general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell and Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney. The topic of discussion will center on what exactly Cousins is looking for as he prepares to sign his next contract.

If anything is clear at this point, it’s that the Vikings want to keep Cousins, 35, around for the foreseeable future. Whenever Adofo-Mensah or O’Connell have been asked about Cousins this week, both have been effusive in their praise. They would love nothing more than to reach an agreement in the near future.

“What we do know is we have a really great quarterback,” Adofo-Mensah said. “He’s somebody that we think we can win the ultimate prize with.”

“My feelings on Kirk Cousins really have not wavered,” O’Connell said. “If anything they’re stronger now having gone through a lot of adversity together.”

Those kind words only go so far in the negotiation process.

Talking to reporters at TCO Performance Center in Eagan last month, Cousins tried to push the narrative forward, alluding to the fact that he wants to feel valued by the organization. That might be the most important part for him at this stage of his career. Especially coming off a torn Achilles tendon.

“It’s not about the dollars,” he said. “It’s about what the dollars represent.”

Though he wouldn’t elaborate on the statement, it’s not hard to read between the lines. He wants to be wanted perhaps more than anything else, and as far as Cousins is concerned, the best way for the Vikings to show that is by putting their money where their mouth is.

If the Vikings aren’t willing to do that for Cousins, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him test free agency.

The list of teams other than the Vikings that could be looking for a quarterback include the Atlanta Falcons, the Las Vegas Raiders and maybe even the Denver Broncos, among a handful of others.

There’s a good chance McCartney will have some informal meetings this week independent of his communication with the Vikings.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Cousins posted a video on social media this week of himself throwing the ball after going through a full dropback. He was clearly trying to show how much progress he has made in his recovery. Asked about the video, O’Connell didn’t seem surprised by it in the slightest.

“I’ve been in contact with him pretty much weekly,” O’Connell said. “He’s doing some of his rehab with our folks in house. He’s also doing some rehab away from our facility as well. I know every check-in I get both either from the medical side or from Kirk himself is always pretty shocking as far as how far along he is already.”

As optimistic as the Vikings seem to be as they continue to navigate the NFL Combine this week, they are also admittedly making contingency plans just in case the negotiation process with Cousins doesn’t go according to plan.

“We have our interests and he has his,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’ll get to the table and see if we can figure out a creative solution on how to meet in the middle.”

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