Nov 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) celebrates after a victory with mascot Freddie Falcon against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports.
The Atlanta Falcons are at the top of the list for Kirk Cousins’ free-agent options if the 35-year-old quarterback doesn’t re-up with the Minnesota Vikings.
Cousins has family ties to Georgia through marriage, the Falcons need a quarterback, and Atlanta’s front office might pony up stacks of guaranteed cash for a passer as productive as Cousins.
Well, in addition to the this-make-sense theories regarding Cousins and Atlanta, the face of the Falcons franchise also did a sly bit of recruiting recently. He’s Bijan Robinson, and he extended an invitation to Cousins this week during an interview.
Robinson was asked about Cousins’ next NFL destination, and he replied, “He could come to us, but I kind of have a feeling he might stay [in Minnesota].”
The Falcons running back didn’t get in the weeds or anything close to it about Cousins in Atlanta, but he did offer the backhanded invitation. Cousins can likely earn upward of $45 million per season on the open market, while the Vikings have seemed to hint for the last year that they’d want a price lower than that.
Too, new Falcons head coach Raheem Morris actually has tangible ties to Cousins. Morris was a defensive backs coach for the Washington Commanders from 2012 to 2014 — also known as Cousins’ first three seasons in the NFL. Morris knows Cousins, and Cousins knows Morris, assuming the two had a standard coach-player relationship in Washington. Former player and coach ties matter in sports, so Cousins exploring the Falcons and vice versa in free agency wouldn’t be weird at all.
And Cousins would fit wonderfully in Atlanta. The Falcons possess offensive weapons itching for full deployment, a tactic inexplicably held back by former head coach Arthur Smith. Put simply, Cousins could feed Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and Drake London all day on Sundays — every Sunday. Some considered it a crime, mainly fantasy football managers, for Smith to blatantly ignore his playmakers as a habit.
Earlier this week, ESPN linked Cousins to three free-agent suitors if he hits the open market: the Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Dan Graziano wrote about Cousins’ upcoming free agency, “Cousins was playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL before he got hurt, and quality starting QBs don’t hit free agency very often. It sounds like Minnesota would like to bring him back, but if he’s set on maxing out his market, it might not be able to get it done. And at some point, the Vikings know they need to think about a long-term solution at the position.”
Overall, there’s a coach-player connection between Cousins and Morris, a Vikings team that may not unload $45 million per year on Cousins’ next contract, a Falcons squad that desperately needs a productive passer like Cousins, family ties for Cousins to Georgia — and Bijan Robinson sideways lobbying for Cousins on his team.
That’s enough to continue the Cousins-to-Atlanta theories. More than enough.
NFL free agency kicks off with “legal tampering” on March 11th, and Minnesota should have a verdict on the Cousins extension by that date.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.