After six successful years, quarterback Kirk Cousins will leave the Minnesota Vikings for an NFC rival. At least, that’s what executives around the NFL predict will happen in the coming months.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler polled several front office figures around the league regarding some of the biggest questions in free agency. Among those questions was one that involved the ultimate fate of Cousins, as he is no longer under contract in Minnesota and will hit the market in less than two months if that doesn’t change.
The general consensus was that Cousins will land with the Atlanta Falcons, who are in the market for a prominent new head coach and already boast a talented roster in the exceedingly winnable NFC South Division.
“The feeling out of New England was that [Bill] Belichick planned to target an established veteran quarterback for the Patriots in 2024. If he gets the Atlanta job, as some expect, he can follow a similar blueprint,” Fowler wrote. “Cousins very well might re-sign with Minnesota, but if not, the Falcons offer several high-end skill players on offense and an improving defense — they’re the proverbial quarterback away.”
Fowler also quoted an AFC executive who sees the combination of Belichick and Cousins as one that can bring immediate success to the Falcons organization.
“[Belichick] can help a talented yet underachieving team, and Atlanta is that,” an AFC executive said. “Cousins would be a great fit there.”
Kirk Cousins Has Family Ties in Atlanta to Compete with Minnesota
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
There are several reasons why the Falcons can potentially recruit Cousins away from the Vikings, not the least of which is the connection that the quarterback’s family has to the area.
#Vikings QB Kirk Cousins to the … Falcons?!
@PhilMackey lays it out! #SKOL
“Kirk Cousins’ wife was born and raised in Georgia. She went to the University of Georgia in Athens and Kirk and Julie were married, almost 10 years ago, in Georgia,” Phil Mackey of SKOR North pointed out on September 26. “They have family in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Atlanta is a much more similar market to Minneapolis in terms of, like, it’s kind of a middle market in the NFL.”
Loyalty issues, job security and a franchise that openly wants Cousins in Atlanta as opposed to one that has been hesitant about him in Minnesota could also all prove factors that push Cousins south this spring.
Kirk Cousins ‘Not Gonna Turn Down’ Chance to Play for Bill Belichick
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
Cousins has said that money will not be his driving factor after earning $185 million in Minnesota over the past six seasons and a total of $231.7 million over the course of his 12-year NFL career.
That said, Cousins is presumably interested in a multiyear contract that pays him what he’s worth, guarantees his employment for several seasons and offers his family the opportunity to settle in a place that feels like home.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been unwilling to make Minnesota that place for Cousins, extending him on a one-year deal before the 2022 campaign and leaving the prospect of the QB’s free agency dangling for the past several months.
The Falcons have roughly the same amount of salary cap space ($29.9 million) as the Vikings ($29.1 million) as of Wednesday, and Spotrac projects Cousins’ market value at more than $39 million annually over a new three-year deal.
The QB is unlikely to get that kind of investment from the Vikings, though a hungry franchise like the Falcons with a new coach like Belichick — presumably also nearing the end of his career — could be an entirely different story.
Cousins has also stated an open interested in playing for Belichick.
“I’m not gonna turn down an opportunity to play with a future Hall of Fame coach,” Cousins told Isabel Gonzalez of CBS Sports on January 18. “But we’ll have to see where March leads.”
The ball appears solidly in the Vikings’ court, but Cousins’ incentives to pursue the final stage of his career in Atlanta continue stacking up — so much so that front office folks around the NFL now believe it’s just a matter of time before Cousins joins the Falcons and the Vikings are scrambling for a starting quarterback.
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NFL Execs Predict Kirk Cousins Will Leave Vikings, Bolt for NFC Rival