The Falcons have made two of the three most significant decisions of the offseason, hiring a head coach and offensive coordinator, but the most critical one awaits them — a quarterback.
Raheem Morris was named head coach late last week in a surprise announcement. Many expected it to be Bill Belichick, but his demands and needs proved too great for Arthur Blank to pull the trigger.
Morris is no consolation price; in fact, I’d argue he’s a much better candidate for the Falcons timeline than a 71-year-old who only has a few seasons left. Morris is younger, more equipped to connect to players, and able to carry the Falcons through the growing pains of finding a long-term solution at signal caller.
The other most important move was always going to be the offensive coordinator hire if the Falcons didn’t bring in an offensive-minded head coach, and Raheem Morris already knocked this hire out of the park.
Zac Robinson, the hottest candidate of the hiring cycle, chose the Falcons over the Buccaneers, Saints, Bears, Steelers, and Raiders. Pretty much every team with an offensive coordinator vacancy wanted the former Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Raheem Morris was heralded for his ability to build an All-Star staff, and he delivered, but it won’t matter if the Falcons can’t find a competent quarterback.
The Falcons have to be done with half measures at the position. Ideally, Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot can find a franchise quarterback in the draft, but that may not be an option. Trading for a talented, yet underachieving Justin Fields could also be an avenue.
However, over-drafting one of J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix, or Box Nix shouldn’t be an option. Nor should trading for Fields if Fontenot and Morris don’t agree on it. The free agent class isn’t as robust as it’s been in past years, but there are a couple of clear-cut upgrades.
Kirk Cousins is certainly the top quarterback available in free agency, but going down that route would signal an all-in approach to 2024 and 2025, considering the veteran will be 36 years old by the start of the season.
The Falcons roster may not be in a position right now for that kind of move, but it certainly could be with the cap space and draft capital on hand this offseason. It will cost significant cap space to lure Cousins to Atlanta, though.
According to Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press, the soon-to-be free agent quarterback will garner as much as $90 million over two years.
“The buzz now is that it will take $90 million guaranteed for two years, despite that he’s still not yet fully recovered from Achilles surgery in November, to sign free agent QB Kirk Cousins,” Walters wrote. “If that’s the case, he certainly won’t get that from the Vikings.”
That’s a lot of money for a guy coming off a torn Achilles, but if he plays like he was before the injury, Cousins is worth it. He was completing nearly 70% of his passes for over 2,330 yards and 18 touchdowns to only five interceptions.
With Zac Robinson and a bevy of offensive weapons, Atlanta has to be intriguing for Kirk Cousins. The Falcons should certainly try to fill the position in a long-term fashion, but landing Cousins wouldn’t be a terrible resolution.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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