The largest title in free company is now off the market with the information that quarterback Kirk Cousins is leaving the Minnesota Vikings and signing a brand new four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons, in keeping with reviews. Cousins’ deal is price $180 million, with $100M of that assured.
It’s a bombshell transfer that instantly makes the Falcons one of the best staff within the NFC South with out anybody shut, whereas the Vikings at the moment are left to select up the items. Minnesota took a calculated threat to work on what they known as a “aggressive rebuild,” which has as an alternative left them outdoors the High 10 within the NFL Draft, with out a future quarterback on the roster, and with one of the best gamers already taken in free company. Now the staff should transfer to a 3rd or fourth-best choice, and it’s unclear what the long run holds.
The $45M per 12 months deal is likely one of the largest in NFL historical past and exhibits great religion that Cousins can stay a top-tier quarterback, at the same time as he returns from a torn achilles which he sustained in 2023. This additionally signifies that Cousins is now incomes the identical quantity as Patrick Mahomes, which is essentially a product of the brand new NFL wage cap, which noticed enormous will increase.
Atlanta get what they’ve been lacking since Matt Ryan left the staff: Consistency on the quarterback place. Cousins walks into an excellent scenario with Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts — all phenomenal abilities who have been wasted with Desmond Ridder beneath heart. The transfer comes whereas the Buccaneers try to bounce again from dropping offensive coordinator Dave Canales, the Saints handle their wage cap hell, and the Panthers attempt to cease being the more severe franchise in soccer.
The door is now open for the Falcons to win the division with ease, and for Cousins to take the staff on a playoff run. The items are in place, now it’s about executing. No matter what you consider Cousins he stays a High 5 quarterback within the NFC, and with the complete convention affected by year-over-year consistency issues there’s no telling how far the Falcons might go in 2024.
This has enormous ripple results all through the quarterback place. With Atlanta now discovering their starter it’s more and more tough to discover a residence for Justin Fields in a commerce. The final remaining staff in dire want of a QB (and never anticipated to draft one in April) is the Las Vegas Raiders, however present offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and Fields didn’t work effectively collectively in Chicago, which appears to rule out a reunion.
Now we wait to see what the Vikings will do at their QB place.
