PFN Envisions New Team for Kirk Cousins
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots — those are the common-sense landing spots for quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2024, according to most Vikings fans and NFL media members.
PFN Envisions New Team for Kirk Cousins
And if Pro Football Network gets it right, Cousins will indeed play for a team on that list, just not the Vikings.
PFN’s Dallas Robinson authors free agency predictions late last week, and for Cousins, the Atlanta Falcons are on tap as his new employer. “While Kirk Cousins is 36 and coming off a torn Achilles, he should still be able to land between $30 million and $40 million annually on the open market. He could re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings, but they cannot franchise-tag him this offseason. Cousins will hit the open market, and the Falcons stand out as an obvious suitor,” Robinson wrote.
Atlanta has a new head coach in Raheem Morris, firing Arthur Smith after the 2023 campaign, and is itching to find a quarterback equipped with the tools to distribute the rock among targets like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson. Based on his impressive resume, Cousins could be perfect for the job.
Robinson added about Cousins to the Falcons, “New Atlanta OC Zac Robinson comes from the Los Angeles Rams and will run a Sean McVay-inspired scheme that Cousins is already intimately familiar with, thanks to his time with Vikings head coach (and former Rams staffer) Kevin O’Connell. The Falcons have $25 million in cap space, can rework existing contracts to create more room, and could structure Cousins’ deal to ensure his 2024 cap figure is limited.”
Conversely, the Vikings have first dibs on Cousins after six seasons in Minnesota at the helm as QB1. Money is the sticking point at the moment, though, and Cousins’ historically large asking price may not jibe with the final stages of the Vikings’ competitive rebuild phase of team-building.
“With RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts, an underrated offensive line, and a talented defense already in place, Atlanta is a quarterback away from contending next season — and Cousins is their best choice,” Robinson concluded.
Cousins has family ties to Georgia through marriage, and sometimes those connections matter. He could also possibly fetch more money from Atlanta, and the 35-year-old has always shown that guaranteed cheddar is of the utmost importance to his decision-making. Otherwise, he’d return to Minnesota at a discount, like Tom Brady in New England or Tampa Bay.
The $28.5 million dead cap funds from Cousins’ last contract are scheduled to hit the Vikings’ books on March 13th, so the club is all but guaranteed to have a verdict by then. About three weeks from now.
Cousins will turn 36 in August and posted this video about his injury recovery on Monday:
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.
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