Kirk Cousins has decided to depart the Minnesota Vikings this offseason to begin a new career with the Atlanta Falcons. Weeks after signing with his new team, he witnessed the Falcons shock the world by selecting a quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., with the eighth overall pick in the draft.
As it turns out, what the Falcons accomplished was precisely why Cousins left the Vikings in the first place.
Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL world with their first pick.
The Falcons’ decision was by far the biggest surprise of the first round of the draft, with no one understanding why the team would chose a quarterback so high after paying Cousins so much money weeks before. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated claimed that Cousins left his former team to play out this precise scenario with them.
Cousins’ decision to leave the Vikings was based on the fact that the team informed him that they would select a quarterback with their first selection in the draft that year. Minnesota did exactly what they promised Cousins, selecting quarterback J.J. McCarthy with their #1 pick. Cousins never anticipated his new team would do the same.
“A reason he decided to leave Minnesota is because the Vikings were very up front with the 35-year-old about the possibility that, even in the case he stayed, they’d take a quarterback of the future high in the draft,” Breer stated.
The Minnesota Vikings were more open with Kirk Cousins.
Let’s just say the Cousins-Falcons relationship has had a rough start. His former team informed him that they would draft a quarterback weeks in advance, but the Falcons were believed to have not discussed their draft plans to their new quarterback, to whom they will pay more than $100 million.
The contract is for four years and $180 million, and Cousins expected to be informed about the Falcons’ draft plans in advance. Per Andrew Gould of The Spun:
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Falcons informed Cousins of their intention to choose Penix while he was on the clock. Cousins was “a bit stunned,” expecting that they would not consider a quarterback in the first round.
Right after the Falcons surprised the NFL world, the Vikings did exactly what they promised Cousins and signed him as their future quarterback. It’s amusing that Cousins left the Vikings because they were going to choose a quarterback, only for his new team to do the same thing.
Breer projected that Cousins and the Falcons will overcome any awkwardness caused by the Penix selection since Cousins is a “adult” and new head coach Raheem Morris is “phenomenal” at forging relationships with players.
What is Atlanta thinking?
