WATCH: Kirk Cousins Sends Heartfelt Goodbye to Minnesota
On Monday, NFL free agency began, and inevitably, it meant that the Minnesota Vikings would see change to their roster.
One of those changes involved the quarterback position as Kirk Cousins opted to leave the Vikings, signing a new four-year contract worth $180 million with the Atlanta Falcons. The veteran is leaving Minnesota after six seasons as the starting quarterback in Minnesota. However, before he officially leaves the Vikings for Atlanta, Cousins has posted a video to social media thanking the Vikings and fans.
Kirk Cousins Sends Heartfelt Goodbye to Minnesota
Take a look:
Six years ago, today, Cousins signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings to become the team’s new starting QB. Throughout that time, there were plenty of ups and downs, but it cannot be debated that the veteran brought stability to the position for Minnesota.
It was something that the Vikings desperately needed after the failed Christian Ponder experiment immediately followed up by injuries to Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford. Over those six seasons, the Vikings went a total of 50-37-1 in Cousins’ 88 starts, making the playoffs twice.
Prior to his Achilles injury in 2023, the veteran quarterback did not miss a single game due to injury, and he recorded 3500+ passing yards and 25+ passing TDs in eight consecutive years going back to his time in Washington.
Throughout his career in Minnesota, Cousins started 88 regular season games, throwing for 23,265 yards, 171 TDs, and 55 interceptions. His passing yardage total ranks third all-time in Vikings history while his passing TDs total sits in second behind only Fran Tarkenton.
In the end, though, it was time for the marriage to come to an end between Cousins and the Vikings. The quarterback finally saw his iron man stretch come to an end with the injury, and he is set to turn 36 years old this year. The Vikings have a number of young stars to pay (Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw) sooner than later and cannot afford to be forking over large amounts of money to an aging QB.
As a result, Cousins now heads to Atlanta, another situation that desperately needs his skillset. Consistency is a trait that has not existed at the Falcons QB position ever since Matt Ryan left following the 2021 season, and last year, the team saw Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder split starts. Ridder made 13 starts for Atlanta while Heinicke started four games. Combined, the duo of QBs threw for 3726 yards, 17 TDs, and 16 INTs.
And now, the Vikings have a chance to go draft their star later this spring with the 11th overall pick.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via 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.