It’s hard to judge the season No. 1 of Kirk Cousins in Minnesota after he signed a three-year, $84 million deal.

The Vikings finished just 8-7-1 and missed the playoffs, but Cousins throw for 4,398 yards and a career-high 30 touchdowns.

On Tuesday, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman reflected back on year one of the Kirk Cousins’ era.

“I think Kirk, just being around him for a year, I’ve never seen a guy work at it as hard as he does. I mean he was the first one in the building when they were allowed back in the building. He is non-stop all afternoon in that film room. I know the time and energy he puts in to be successful and to guide this franchise,” Spielman said. “I know, especially with Gary Kubiak coming in and Kevin Stefanski taking over the offense, really honing in on what Kirk Cousins does best as a quarterback, what we can do to help him as well. But there is no one as professional as Kirk Cousins is and how he approaches this job and how important it is to him.”

There were some hiccups in Cousins’ first season, but that had a lot to do with a below-average offensive line, a bad running game, and some disconnection with offensive coordinator John DeFilippo.

We’ll see if Cousins’ hard work and dedication turns into a playoff appearance for the Vikings in 2019.