Why would Kirk Cousins leave the Vikings for the Falcons?
Minnesota has been his home since 2018. Cousins is extremely familiar with Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings staff. The roster is in good shape, featuring the best receiver in football — Justin Jefferson — to go along with two other formidable weapons — Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson.
Atlanta is an attractive free agent destination, but it’s not like it’s clearly better than Minnesota. The Falcons have a talented, yet underachieving core of skill players in Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson. But is that really better than one that features Justin Jefferson? I wouldn’t be so sure.
There’s one single aspect that the Falcons can beat the Vikings in this recruiting pitch — $$$.
Terry Fontenot, Raheem Morris, and Arthur Blank have been adamant about fixing the quarterback position, oftentimes saying they’ll be aggressive in doing so. A contract is the best way to sway Cousisn away from Minnesota.
Whether that is years, average annual value, or guarantees, the Falcons can prove how badly they want Kirk Cousins. For a Vikings team that has fallen short year after year with Cousins under center, they may not be as desperate as a team like the Falcons.
That seems to be the case. Dianna Russini on The Athletic Football Show said the belief is Cousins can garner a better contract in Atlanta than Minnesota.
“There is a belief that Kirk [Cousins] can get a better deal from Atlanta, just purely based on the amount of money they have and that they’re willing to offer if it were to get there,” Russini told Robert Mays.
The Falcons don’t have a bunch more cap space compared to the Vikings, but if they have a willingness to spend it on Cousins, it doesn’t matter. Arthur Blank is tired of losing and isn’t the type of owner to penny-pinch. In fact, he’s quite the opposite.
Blank will give Fontenot and Morris whatever resources are required to get their guy, and if it’s Cousins, a fully guaranteed deal isn’t even a question for an owner like Blank. It seems the Falcons have Cousins locked in their sights.
“They [Atlanta] can say, ‘Yes, you’re the guy. We want you here. We’ve got the money. There’s no questions. There’s no insecurities. There’s no worry. You are the guy. We’re not making any moves at the quarterback position if you come here,'” Russini added.
If Kirk Cousins desires three years or a fully guaranteed deal, the Falcons can acquiesce, whereas the Vikings might be hesitant. It’s quite interesting how the two sides view him.
Atlanta, which hasn’t had stable quarterback play since Matt Ryan’s twilight years and hasn’t made the postseason since 2017, sees Cousins as the piece that can put them over the top into contender status.
Minnesota, which has been to the postseason regularly in the Cousins era and fallen short, doesn’t see the veteran as the guy who can get them to a Super Bowl at this stage of his career.
The Falcons are desperate and want to be aggressive. Kirk Cousins wants to be wanted. It seems like a match made in heaven.
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Photographer: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire
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