Falcons Star Makes a Little Recruiting Pitch for Kirk Cousins
Josh Frey
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Among all the teams that might be a quarterback away from being competitive in the NFL, no team fits that mold better than the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta has gone through the past few seasons struggling to find consistent play at the QB position, but they have solidified multiple stars at skill positions that should make the job easier on whichever quarterback they bring in for 2024.
One of those Falcons stars, RB Bijan Robinson made a little recruiting pitch for Kirk Cousins to come to Atlanta. 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].”
Falcons Star Makes a Little Recruiting Pitch for Kirk Cousins
The Cousins/Falcons rumors aren’t particularly new at this point. He has family ties to the city of Atlanta, and the Falcons are looking to get more innovative on the offensive side of the ball after hiring Zac Robinson to be their offensive coordinator following five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams under Cousins’ former OC in Washington, Sean McVay.
NFL insider, Ari Meirov, who works for The 33rd Team, added fuel to the fire on Friday. During an interview with Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo of PFF, Meirov stated, “I think it’s Vikings or Falcons for Kirk Cousins.”
Atlanta needs to get much better at the quarterback position if they want to compete in the NFC, and Cousins could be exactly the player to help them do that. In 2023, the Falcons worked with the duo of Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder throughout the season. With that duo, Atlanta had the 11th-fewest passing yards and seventh-fewest passing TDs last year.
This simply isn’t good enough for a team that has used top-10 picks on offensive playmakers in each of the past three years. Atlanta also has a strong offensive line, which graded out as the fourth-best group in pass blocking last season, per PFF.
Atlanta also holds the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they certainly could look to draft a quarterback like J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, or Michael Penix in that spot. Especially if they went in the McCarthy route, they could afford to bring in Cousins while allowing McCarthy to learn Robinson’s offense for a year or two considering the Michigan QB is only 21 years old.
Looking at Atlanta’s salary cap situation, they currently have about $25.8 million in salary cap space, so they likely need to free up some money to bring Cousins into the fold. However, they have multiple ways to do exactly that. According to Over the Cap, the Falcons can free up over $21 million by restructuring the current contracts of Grady Jarrett, Jake Matthews, and Kaleb McGary.
Cousins could, of course, opt to stay with the Vikings in 2024, but that decision likely will come down to the exact structure of the contract that Minnesota offers him in terms of years and guaranteed money.
Overall, the Falcons could go in a number of different routes at their QB spot this offseason, but Cousins certainly seems like the top option if they want to pursue a player in free agency. Given the wide-open nature of the NFC South on an annual basis, Cousins could be the player to push them over the top.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.