The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
This ends the Cousins era for the Minnesota Vikings, which lasted six years.
The Falcons had long been rumored as a potential landing spot for Cousins, and given that Cousins’ wife is from Georgia and still has family there, the match seemed to make sense.
Initially, the general consensus was that the Vikings would re-sign Cousins, as they maintained that they wanted to keep him. However, they only wanted to do so as long as it didn’t hurt their long-term financial flexibility, which created a gap between Cousins and Minnesota.
Evidently, the gap was too great to overcome.
Now, Cousins is taking his talents to Atlanta, which mired through the 2023 campaign shuffling between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke under center.
Clearly, Cousins represents a massive upgrade for the Falcons, which spells bad news for the rest of the NFC South.
Even with its horrendous situation at signal-caller this past season, Atlanta still contended for a division title, but ultimately finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs.
Had the Falcons had a better quarterback situation, perhaps they would have made the playoffs.
We’ll never know about 2023, but we do know that Cousins is at the head of the charge going into 2024.
The question is, how will Cousins look?
Remember: the 35-year-old tore his Achilles eight games into this past year, and with the veteran turning 36 before next season starts, it’s fair to wonder how he will perform.
But, the Falcons are betting on Kirk Cousins, and who could blame them? The man is a four-time Pro Bowler, after all.
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