The Falcons will make their upgrade at quarterback. Kirk Cousins is coming to town, according to his agent. The Falcons are giving the longtime Vikings passer a four-year deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports.
After steady buzz about Cousins changing teams in free agency once again, he will give the Falcons a major upgrade at a position they have struggled to staff since trading Matt Ryan. It will also mean a new era for the Vikings, who have a massive need to fill now.
As he is wont to do, Cousins will cash in big. The Falcons are giving him a four-year, $180MM deal, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. The contract includes $100MM guaranteed and features a $50MM signing bonus as part of that commitment. This $45MM-per-year deal represents Cousins’ first AAV beyond $35MM.
Additionally, Pelissero notes $90MM is guaranteed at signing and an additional $10MM will lock in by March 2025, making the $100MM a practical guarantee. A $2MM incentive exists each year for a Super Bowl win, bringing the contract’s max value to $188MM.
The Vikings made a last-ditch push to retain Cousins on Sunday night, NFL.com’s James Palmer reports. This looks to have driven up the price. Cousins has already made more than $230MM in his career; he is set to add a considerable amount to that whopping total in Atlanta.
Minnesota attempted to retain Cousins, but it became clear a price ceiling existed. The Vikings had refused to provide guarantees into a third year for the veteran quarterback during 2023 negotiations, and it is believed that remained an issue. That is not exactly surprising, as Cousins is coming off an Achilles tear. Still, the Vikings had bent to Cousins during 2018, 2020 and 2022 negotiations. They will now be tasked with replacing the third-longest-tenured QB1 in franchise history.
For the Falcons, this is a major change from where they were last year. The team memorably passed on a Lamar Jackson pursuit, though it was not exactly alone on that front, and anointed Desmond Ridder early last offseason. Ridder did not fare well as Atlanta’s starter, being benched on multiple occasions. Taylor Heinicke remains on Atlanta’s roster, but the team made no secret of its desire to unlock more from its passing game. Cousins’ arrival stands to be big news for ex-Terry Fontenot top-10 picks Drake London and Kyle Pitts.
Cousins, 35, has never been confused with a top-tier quarterback. But he has offered stability for multiple franchises. Cousins’ Washington QB1 status proved fleeting, as negotiations soured and led to a two-franchise tag route out of town. Cousins repeatedly said he wanted to stay in Minnesota, but the Big Ten product will venture to a new region in a Falcons effort to change their trajectory under Raheem Morris and OC Zac Robinson. Cousins and his wife were believed to be scouting real estate in Atlanta recently, and the team will change its QB pay structure from the past two years.
While Cousins offered the Vikings stability leading up to his Achilles tear, Minnesota was not an automatic contender despite the spree of big-ticket payments to the former fourth-round pick. The Vikings won one playoff game with Cousins and missed three NFC brackets during his healthy seasons. Cousins was playing at a high level before his October Achilles setback, however, ranking seventh in QBR in a span that also included a Justin Jefferson injury. Still, Cousins has one Pro Bowl nod as a non-alternate (2022) in his career.
Arthur Blank said last year he wanted to reset around a rookie-QB contract; that charted course lasted one year. But the Falcons were ready to trade three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson in 2022. After Ridder underwhelmed, they are back in the high-priced QB business. Meanwhile, the Vikings will take on a $28.5MM dead money hit for not re-signing Cousins by March 13. Void years used to drop Cousins’ 2023 cap hit will lead to that penalty.
This will be a big swing for Fontenot and Co., who probably had a chance to add Georgia native Justin Fields via trade. The Falcons’ desire for a better passer has stalled Fields’ market, but with Baker Mayfield staying with the Buccaneers and Cousins leaving Minnesota, the Bears may need to sit tight with their three-year starter.
Bears running out of trade partners for Fields
Still have broncos Raiders giants Seahawks
And now Vikings.
I’d be surprised if the Bears and Vikings make an intra-division trade.
Good point. Especially for a qb.
Seahawks?
I highly doubt the Vikings would be interested, doesn’t really make any sense for them.
I don’t know if Denver or New York are on that list. If they are, they most certainly won’t be giving up much of value. The Giants may as well just play Jones, who has a similar skillset and familiarity with the team. Denver just got rid of a passer who was incompatible with Payton’s offense, and is likely to add a quarterback in the draft to sign under their massive cap hit. The Raiders are employing Fields’ former coordinator who doesn’t seem to have meshed well with him. The Bears may have to just retain Fields or cut him, but it seems most likely at this point that he gets traded to a team with an established starter for a pittance instead of netting a decent pick. Baltimore may not be interested, but that would be an interesting backup situation once Fields’ price inevitably falls.
Wow
I’m a Falcons fan and love the upgrade especially with the offensive talent we have….but Kirk had a plethora of offensive weapons for years with the Vikings with no meaningful success. There’s a joke in fantasy football (spare me the fantasy hate, just a comparison) to steer clear of any primetime games with Kirk as your QB and unfortunately it was true way more often than not.
Not disagreeing but remember that the Vikings defense has been pretty bad for the last four years. They made some improvements last year but still ended up on the lower side of mediocre.
The offense did have success in Minnesota. It’s rather well documented. The defense has been the worst, or within a few spots of it, in the league for the last few years. Cousins definitely did his job. I’m not sure if Morris will run a complementary offense in the same way that O’Connell did, but if the Falcons’ defense can improve on what the Vikings offered, then you figure that they should have a great chance in an uncertain division.
As a Vikings fan I’m completely ok with this, 4 years is nuts and when the actual numbers come out I’ll probably be even more ok with it. Thanks for the good years Kirko, wish we could have seen you with a competent defense so that it didn’t all rely on you so much. That said screw the Falcons for 98 and I hope you stink now.
$250 Million Fully Guranteed supposedly…that’s nuts considering his age, coming off a major injury, and what like 1 playoff win?!…As a Falcons fan I’ll take though I guess.
That would be $62.5 million per year. Mahomes doesn’t make anything close to that. I don’t know where you heard that, but they are not a good source. Obviously.
Yes you’re correct…its $180 Million
Yeah surely kirk cousins has been made the highest paid qb in the nfl over joe burrow by an aav of 8 million more a season…
I’m a Bear fan and I’ve always thought Cousins was underrated. He and Jefferson have been deadly and I can’t imagine JJ is thrilled with this. But man, Cousins has killed the Vikes with guarantees and I think they did the right thing cutting ties. It’ll be painful for a couple of seasons but now they can perhaps move up and grab a QB they like and move on. I would add that the Falcons are gonna hit the same wall with him in a couple of years and be right back at square one.
Dennis Green helped you with that NFC loss.
Well, the Falcons were who the Vikings thought they were…and they let ‘em off the hook.
Can’t wait for the first “Fastest Two Minutes” of the szn from the PMT boys
Well that was fast!
thank God I don’t have to become a packer fan
Wow, there it is. I like their coaching hires and I like this for them. Cousins with those weapons, that line, and still having a top ten pick is intriguing, especially in a very winnable division.
Very winnable division. Cousins, Carr, Mayfield, Young. Add in the warm weather and I bet Kirk is loving life right now.
At the moment it looks like ATL can still draft Edge Dallas Turner out of Alabama in the 1st round. Dirty Birds flying high today.
I personally think 8 is a little rich for Turner and like the top CBs in the draft better, but we’ll see how things shake out. If Odunze somehow falls, that would be hard to pass up. Could also be a good place for a modest trade down, since teams might want to get ahead of the Jets for a tackle. (I say this sadly as a Jets fan.)
I know 8 feels high for Turner but if ATL wants a potentially elite Edge rusher they will have to take him in the 1st round. It is a CB rich draft imo, I think ATL can find a solid CB in the 2nd round, I do not know if they will be able to find an edge in the 2nd round that deserves a 2nd round pick if that makes sense. Of course a lot will change between now and then.
If Odunze falls to 8 then hell yeah draft the man lol. I looked at a draft earlier with QB’s going 1-3 and WR’s going 4-6. It is going to be interesting to see what comes draft night.
ATL plays in a dome so no change in seasons for Cousins.
Sorry for confusion, I meant the warm weather of the division.
Crazy. 4 year deal coming off brutal injury.
So Fields is not going to Atlanta? Where will he go? Or will in stay in the Windy City? Up to you Poles!
He may stay if Poles can’t find decent return… but it’d be as a back up. And they won’t pick up his 5th year option.
Bears don’t have to trade Fields, stop making it sound like their desperate. They can still draft Williams and keep Fields if the trade value and return isn’t enough for Fields. If Fields or Williams get butt hurt because they don’t want competition too bad.
They do. Drafting Williams keeping Fields is a recipe for disaster.
Either one of them hold out its costs them $50k a day..
Neither will hold out.
The issue is a split locker room.
You don’t want guys to have to choose between Fields or Williams of who the locker room is going to support as QB
Jets had this exact thing happen 2 years ago where some guys were behind Wilson some were behind Mike White.
You also don’t want to be in a situation where fans locker room and coaching staff are putting someone on a short leash. There’s going to be growing pains with Williams.
You don’t keep both for a variety of reasons.
100% agreed. Fields is either the man, or he is gone for whatever they can get.
No way they keep him if they draft Williams. One of the reasons to draft a QB is to get the benefit of the lower salary.
4th and 8
Well I guess Fields isn’t going to Atlanta! Your move Poles!!
enjoy 4 years of 9 win seasons and lots of bubblegum card stats….clutch wins? not so much
The NFC South is having a mid off.
9 wins probably wins the division
Minnesota should now overpay New England for a move up to #3 to make the most of that talented WR group.
I mean, if you believe in Daniels, sure. I’m personally pretty low on him as a pro, but in either case this draft is very QB heavy, even if there isn’t the one generational prospect that stands out. I like Rattler a lot after last year, but even if you don’t, there are plenty of other QBs to choose from that will cost less than the number 3 pick to take.
Maye is probably the higher rated prospect in comparison to Daniels, so he is probably worth more, but I think that Minnesota doesn’t need to go to 3 necessarily to invest in a QB.
It’s funny, I think Maye and Williams are overrated, but think Daniels will be ridiculous. Then again, I am not a pro scout so who knows.
I can’t help but wonder why UNC probably had the second most talent in the ACC and Maye couldn’t take them anywhere, and almost ditto for Williams, as USC had more talent than everyone in the Pac 10 except Oregon and possibly Washington (Utah always seems to get more with less).
Daniels frame is a concern, but he is lightning quick and agile on the run, and unlike guys like Fields and Ridder, he makes fairly quick decisions with the ball. I really think he can be an above average QB … if he doesn’t get annihilated by the bigger bodies.
I actually agree regarding Maye and Williams, particularly Williams. I just really don’t think that Daniels is a pro style player. Maye looked great for stretches, and then would make an incredible mistake-and then another-that would give the opposition more of an opportunity than it needed. But like you said, I’m no pro either.
Perhaps this will be a draft where one of the “lower end” guys gets an unexpected opportunity and excels in a year or two. It’s pretty deep, and though I’m not overwhelmed by any of the QBs personally, it feels like there are a few who could go higher in any other year. Maybe somebody gets overlooked because of how he got pushed down by the others in the order.
I read something a while back suggesting the Vikings could roll with any of the other QB’s they had on the roster last year and not really miss a beat…
As a Packer fan, I really hope they take that approach.
Huh?????
As he is won’t to do, Cousins will cash in big.
I read that 3 times trying to decipher the meaning with no success lol
He meant “wont”. It’s not a huge error, but it kind of derails the message.
You didn’t transpose the passage correctly. The author, Sam Robinson, misspelled “want” as “wont,” not “won’t.” The passage should read as, “As he is WANT to do, Cousins will cash in big.” In case you haven’t noticed, editing, even at newspapers, isn’t what it once was. Remember, we pay nothing for these articles, so take it easy on Sam.
I’m not sure if you’re serious, but since the tone is high-and-mighty…
The phrase is “wont to do”. It was not misspelled. That is the word, not “want”. Google it.
And I’ll give sisseton the benefit of the doubt assuming they are on their phone which autocorrected to “won’t” instead of the *correct* “wont”.
I was attempting to get sisseton to lighten up on Sam. Strange that you’re overlooking sisseton’s lack of familiarity with the expression “as he is wont to do,” as well as assuming that his/her phone was responsible for misspelling “wont,” yet lecture me about the word and imperiously demand I “Google it.” Also strange that your generosity doesn’t extend to my response, which you describe as “high and mighty” as I’m attempting to give Sam a break. If attempting to help someone else out is “high and mighty,” then I just shake my head.
WOW! That’s a LOT for an old dude, coming off a horrific injury that’s only won ONE post season game in his career. They just gave the bag to Diet Old Matt Ryan. Good on you Mr. Cousins, good on you.
I know Minny is now screwed at QB and Jefferson can’t be happy, but I can’t blame them for not paying that.
It’s not like he has lost a ton. 1-3 in the postseason as a starter, and with very solid stats.
Quickly now, name me the active QB’s with winning records in the post season. I think you will find the list extremely short.
Oh, I will just do it myself.
Mahomes 15-3
Rodgers 11-10
Flacco 10-6
Wilson 9-7
Burrow 5-2
Garoppolo 4-2
Purdy 4-2
John Wolford 1-0 (don’t even remember this one)
It’s a short list and one could argue that Purdy and Wilson both won more often due to stellar defenses and a stout running game than for their QB play (though Wilson was an absolute clutch third down wizard). The same could really be said for Flacco, but he has been brilliant at times in the postseason so we can’t simply state his D led the way. Burrow has mastered beating lesser teams in the Wild Card round due to not getting byes.
TL:DR – Four games is a small sample size and one could state that the teams that Cousins led to the playoffs really weren’t very good. The reality is that almost every active QB has a losing record in the playoffs due to the dominance of a few teams over the last decade and a half.
Good post.
Wolford was the Rams’ emergency backup signing who started a few games at the end of the year. Did better than expected, but obviously not a premier player.
I love it. He was my second choice behind Russ. We got Perc Cousins!
Wow.
Falcons are immediately an NFC playoff team. At least I think so.
Time for all those number 1 picks in offense to put up. No more excuses.
ATL was in with a shout going into Week 18, only to let New Orleans run it up by scoring a TD from victory formation.
A proud moment for Jameis Winston…SMH…and then the goof actually tried to justify it…stay classy, Jameis
You better hope the Falcons have a good offensive line because Cousins will get crush if they don’t .
They have a decent run-blocking O-line. If Robinson and Co are intelligent, Kirk is throwing 20-25 times per game tops as Atlanta is running as often as possible.
The problem last year is that opponents simply did not have to respect the passing game at all. The WR’s did not get open quickly, and when they did, Ridder was too slow to make a decision and get the ball out. All Cousins has to do is prevent the defense from cheating against the run and Atlanta should win a couple more games minimum.
The playoffs are the target, as the Falcons foggy window will shrink in a couple of years. Might as well go for it now as a reset will happen whether they win in the next 2-3 years or not.
can’t wait for falcons at cowboys and see what Mike Zimmer has planned for the QB who cost him his job
Atlanta hosts Dallas, not the other way around.
“You like that!” ~Kirk Cousins
Best of all, Falcons have an away game at Washington so Kirk can get back at the team formerly known as the Redskins.
Get back at for what? Developing him and giving an opportunity to be a starting NFL QB and subsequently leading to 300+ million in earnings?
Yes!!!!! Exactly!!!!!!! You’re getting it!!!!!!Washington has a lot to apologize to Kirk about!!!!!!!
So he’s actually going to bank 78.5M in ‘24?
50 from Falcons and 38.5 from Vikings? WOW
Just talented enough to maybe win a round in playoffs. Only way Cousins wins with world class defense like Dilfer with Baltimore.
Kind of explains why the Falcons have never won a title in their 50+ years of operation. Cousins isn’t the future QB they desperately need. He can be a capable bridge for a year or two (like Mayfield in TB) but they won’t be among the elite teams in the league by doing these veteran resets every few years.
If you look at their roster, they don’t have a couple of years. They have maybe a two year window, perhaps three. No time to train up a rookie. Ridder’s window aligned with the rebuild, but he has not improved.
Pitts, London, Robinson, and Terrell are young guys that will be gone in a couple of years most likely. Most of the solid free agents they signed last year will be gone after this season with Bates going one more I think. About all they have after two years is a bunch of OL that are solid, but not world beaters.
It’s either try now or just keep rebuilding every three years like at least a half dozen other teams that are stuck in neutral.
Coming off ACL and barely wins in playoffs. Great signing Atlanta. You will learn who Cousins is.