The Appeal of Re-Signing Kirk Cousins
In all likelihood, Kirk Cousins is going to be a one-and-done with the Atlanta Falcons. Quite the turn of events given that less than a year ago he agreed to be their new franchise passer after agreeing to a four-year deal that was tipping the scales at $180 million.
The issue, of course, is that Cousins struggled to lead his Falcons to wins, leading to an in-season benching in favor of rookie passer Michael Penix Jr., who was shockingly selected at No. 8 by Atlanta. The general thinking, then, is that the Falcons will mitigate the damage of their free agency mistake by moving ahead with Penix while digesting the huge dead money charge that will come from moving on from Mr. Cousins. Does it make sense to bring the veteran back to the Twin Cities?
Kirk Cousins and Re-Signing the Veteran for One More Try
Start off with the consensus about where things are heading for Kirk Cousins.
When the news was first making the rounds, Tom Pelissero sent out a tweet detailing how Atlanta could proceed. One of the main takeaways: “If Cousins remains on the Atlanta roster as of March 16, another $10M in 2026 would become fully guaranteed — not impossible, but practically unfathomable after the decision today.”
Around the same time, Ben Goessling of The Star Tribune — one of the best in the business — clarified an important detail about how Cousins’ contract works: “Cousins has offset language in his contract with the Falcons; if he were released in Atlanta, it wouldn’t even cost the Vikings that much to sign him. Russell Wilson is playing on a league minimum deal with the Steelers.”
So, in theory, Minnesota could bring Mr. Cousins back to town for a super low financial investment. Last season, Russell Wilson carried a $1,210,000 cap charge since he was still getting huge money from the Broncos. Goessling’s insight is that something similar could occur with Cousins.
Isn’t that what many Minnesotans wanted all along? Cousins, no doubt, is far from the perfect quarterback. What he is, though, is a good quarterback who does things the right way. A hard worker and great professional, Cousins has a brain in his head and an accurate arm, making him ideally suited for Kevin O’Connell’s sophisticated offense. Those same attributes would make him a tremendous QB2.
Most recently, Cousins discussed trying to get back to full health, something that both of Dustin Baker and Janik Eckardt have covered. Almost certainly, Kirk Cousins will be looking for a team where he can be the starter. How would he feel about the possibility of a Minnesota return to compete to be the starter?
Prove to be a better option than J.J. McCarthy — the soon-to-be sophomore coming off a season-ending knee injury — and get re-inserted into a loaded offense where he has proven capable of finding success. Lose the competition and return to the bench in favor of a different young passer who was snagged in the 2024 NFL Draft. That would be the gamble Cousins is taking.
Of course, the Vikings would need to be similarly interested in a reunion. The current outlook is one where Daniel Jones appears to be the ideal option to function as the QB2. Jones, though, could decide to find a different team, leaving Minnesota in a bit of a tricky spot. Does Nick Mullens get re-added? A different veteran?
And, to be sure, all of this discussion is excluding the elephant in the QB room: Sam Darnold, someone who is unlikely to return but can’t be outright dismissed.
As a Falcon, Kirk Cousins went 7-7 while completing 66.9% of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. His passer rating finished off at 88.6, the worst number since 2014. His 74.3 PFF grade dropped him down to 23rd among qualifying passers, a considerable drop given his 9th-place finish in 2022 and 2023 as the Vikings’ starter.
Affording the veteran passer would be easy to accomplish given that the Vikings’ budget is sitting at a rotund $58 million. He knows the scheme already and, at worst, would be an excellent mentor for McCarthy. Nevertheless, the likeliest option is that he ends playing elsewhere in 2025.
In August, Cousins will turn 37.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
