Tuesday, February 11, 2025
HomesportFalcons land their QB: What bringing Kirk Cousins to Atlanta means for...

Falcons land their QB: What bringing Kirk Cousins to Atlanta means for franchise


The Falcons have their solution at quarterback.

Spending to land the high-dollar unfastened agent at any role, Atlanta assuredly to a four-year trade in Monday with quarterback Kirk Cousins, a persistently prolific passer who at 35 will struggle to govern the Falcons again into the playoffs.

Cousins, who overlooked the second one part of endmost season with a torn Achilles tendon, will get a four-year trade in reportedly use $180 million, together with $100 million assured. It’s a considerable loyalty from a franchise that handed on alternatives to chase big-name quarterbacks a 12 months in the past. The hope is that Cousins can lift the ability round him beneath unused trainer Raheem Morris and finish Atlanta’s six-year playoff drought.

The verdict for Cousins got here right down to staying in Minnesota or forming a unused bankruptcy in Atlanta. He’ll nonetheless have some usual faces at the sideline: Cousins overlapped with Morris in Washington in 2012-14, and he figures to run an offense alike to what he had in Minnesota with unused Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. Cousins has handed for a minimum of 25 touchdowns in each and every of his occasion 8 wholesome seasons, life Falcons QBs haven’t thrown for greater than 20 in any of the occasion 3 years.

[READ MORE: 2024 NFL free-agency grades: Evaluating every major signing so far]

Cousins, who has 39,471 occupation passing yards and 270 touchdowns, may have a anticipation to lift the Falcons’ offensive ability, as they’ve put 3 immediately top-10 draft alternatives into skill-position avid gamers: tight finish Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London and working again Bijan Robinson. They’ll actively paintings to improve their intensity at receiver, as London used to be their just one with even 20 catches endmost 12 months.

Cousins’ trade in is bigger than the four-year, $150 million trade in the Saints gave Derek Carr a 12 months in the past, and bigger than the three-year, $100 million trade in the Bucs gave Baker Mayfield this occasion weekend. Not one of the 3 got here to the section with a lot playoff enjoy: Mayfield were given his 2nd occupation playoff win endmost season, life Carr has none and Cousins is 1-3 in his postseason occupation. The hope, because it used to be with the alternative two franchises, is that Cousins can get better on that report this 12 months.

Does Cousins produce the Falcons a favourite to win the NFC South? Carr’s arrival did that for the Saints endmost 12 months, and so they completed 9-8 however misplaced a tiebreaker to the Bucs, who received the section for a 3rd 12 months in a row. Atlanta’s 2024 agenda comprises the Falcons — and Cousins — enjoying a sport in opposition to the Vikings in MInnesota.

Had the Falcons overlooked out on Cousins, they confronted a substantial drop-off on the role. They may have traded draft alternatives to the Bears for Justin Fields, or packaged occasion draft alternatives to progress up from Disagree. 8 to the peak few spots on this 12 months’s draft with the hopes of having a franchise quarterback there.

Now, with Cousins in playground, the Falcons can keep at Disagree. 8 within the draft, possibly getting their select of any defensive participant within the magnificence, or getting probably the most elite receivers within the draft to pair with London. Atlanta shall be restricted in its backup free-agent spending now, having impaired a substantial bite of its residue cap dimension to land the most important word on this 12 months’s magnificence.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports activities’ NFC South reporter, masking the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He’s in his tenth season masking the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent presen on the Tampa Bay Occasions and The Athletic. You’ll practice him on Twitter at @gregauman.


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