The Atlanta Falcons signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a massive contract in free agency, and Cam Newton is wondering how he got that money.
During a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, Newton questioned the Falcons’ decision to sign Cousins.
“If you give Kirk Cousins my resume, he probably would’ve got more,” Newton said. “But I’m tripping, but I’m bitter, but I’m mad. I’m not. I’m just exposing the truth.”
Cousins landed a four-year, $180 million deal that featured $100 million in guaranteed money, which seemed like a rather surprising contract given that Cousins is coming off of a torn Achilles and will be 36 years old at the start of next season.
Sharpe went on to say that Cousins has been a game manager his entire career and has only won one playoff game, so he, too, thinks that Cousins is undeserving of the contract.
While it’s certainly fair to critique the deal Cousins received from Atlanta, saying he has always been a game manager is probably taking it a bit too far.
Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowler, and in three of his six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, he threw for 30 or more touchdowns. He totaled 29 touchdowns in one of the years he didn’t hit 30, and this past season, he almost definitely would have registered at least 30 touchdown tosses had he not gotten injured. He had already recorded 18 touchdown passes in eight games before going down.
The Falcons were also in desperate need of a quarterback after shuffling back and forth between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke in 2023, and Cousins was the best signal-caller available.
Now, Sharpe makes a valid point in saying that Atlanta could have gotten Lamar Jackson the year prior, but there were legitimate questions about Jackson’s health and trajectory heading into last season.
Then again, you could make the same argument about Kirk Cousins going into 2024.
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