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The Atlanta Falcons have their new quarterback. On Monday, Kirk Cousins and Atlanta agreed to terms on a four-year deal, which includes $100 million guaranteed. The total value of the contract is a whopping $180 million over that quartet of seasons. He is coming off a torn Achilles and will turn 36 years old this upcoming August. But even with those factors in mind, Atlanta had to make a notable strike in the quarterback market. After consistently being mediocre within the NFC South, adding Kirk Cousins was absolutely a gamble that the Falcons needed to take.
The Falcons have missed the playoffs in the last six consecutive seasons. Overall, they have had exactly seven wins in five of those six years, including in three straight seasons entering 2024. That led to the firing of recent head coach Arthur Smith. And now, Raheem Morris comes in as the new head coach looking to take the Falcons over the hump.
With Kirk Cousins now in the fold, there are clear areas where this Atlanta offense can take advantage. His steady play in prior years with the Minnesota Vikings was an easy target for the Falcons on the quarterback free agent market. And most of all, Atlanta got better and improved their chances by adding Kirk Cousins with a necessary gamble. Let’s kick it off.
Young, Versatile Offensive Skill Group Can Be Elevated By Cousins
Kirk Cousins is stepping into an offense that has a nice set of offensive weapons. They offer plenty of potential. Largely, this is a Falcons offense that can win games, because of the versatility it can offer. In the end, this Atlanta offense will be able to provide Cousins with young pieces. The trio of running back Bijan Robinson and pass catchers Drake London and Kyle Pitts are perfect for the style of quarterback that Cousins is, on top of that.
For one, the Falcons have the ability to go all in, so to speak, because these pieces are all on their rookie deals in a two-year window around Kirk Cousins. Maximizing more of their potential when they still cost very little is key with this newly high-priced QB. On the other hand, Cousins has a better mix of accuracy, anticipation and awareness that what those skill players had at quarterback recently. Cousins will simply be able to distribute the ball more effectively to this Falcons offensive skill group. Moreover, names like Robinson, London and Pitts are going to be set up for more success with this quarterback move.
Falcons Had To Find More Stability At QB Spot
Obviously, the Falcons had to find more stability at the QB spot going into 2024. London and Pitts were not being utilized effectively with their size. Robinson could consistently make defenses look silly in a more wide-open offense with better quarterback play.
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But after the Matt Ryan era officially came to a close, Atlanta only relied on average to below average options, at best. Neither of Marcus Mariota nor Desmond Ridder are a consistent threat as a passer for those weapons. And for the most part, their ability to recognize wrinkles and adjustments by opposing defenses were few and far between. Taylor Heinicke perhaps offered a little bit more of a ceiling than those two. However, Heinicke was unable to find consistent footing during his chances with the Falcons.
Over the last couple of years, Atlanta did have opportunities to add more fruitful options at quarterback. That is why adding Kirk Cousins was a worthy gamble for the Falcons this time around. Other suggested names like Russell Wilson, Gardner Minshew and others did not make much sense for Atlanta this offseason. That is at least true, if the Falcons want to get the level of play that they desire. As a result, the steady play of Kirk Cousins, and the fact that he had the highest ceiling of any potential QB option, was a place where the Atlanta Falcons absolutely had to get to for their option at signal caller. They could not continue to shop in the average-to-mid aisle.
Atlanta Increases Their Chances At Competing
Sure, Kirk Cousins comes to the Falcons going into his age 36 season. Yes, he is coming off of a torn Achilles. But, there is no doubt that Cousins gives this Atlanta squad a better chance to compete in the near future, nonetheless. There had been slight improvements in certain spots, here and there, under coach Smith in the last few years. Quietly, the defense was competitive last season. The Falcons were more much sound than they were given credit for among the offensive line, to boot.
And even with very limited success at the quarterback spot, Atlanta was able to churn out seven wins in each of the last two years. The NFC South is nowhere near a dominant division. Certainly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers deserve some respect with their recent success. But by no means, are the Buccaneers among the best or even the second-best tier of teams in the NFC. It only took eight or nine wins to win the division over the last two years.
With Kirk Cousins now in the fold, the Atlanta Falcons will have more confidence to believe they can outduel Tampa Bay for first place. The same could also be said about their ability to compete for at least a three or four seed in the NFC. And in recent playoff runs from teams in the NFC, mostly every team but the San Francisco 49ers have been up and down in the biggest of moments. Kirk Cousins was the gamble that the Falcons needed to take, due to the wide-open nature of the weaker conference. And now, this roll of the dice already gives Atlanta better odds to compete near the top of the NFC.
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– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.