The Falcons swung big this offseason, handing out the largest contract of NFL free agency, inking Kirk Cousins to a $180 million deal.
Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot came into the offseason with a glaring hole at the most important position in the sport, and with Arthur Blank’s blessing, the Falcons went out and got the best solution available.
It’s immediately made the club favorites in the NFC South and has simultaneously sent the Vikings into a frenzy to find a successor. Minnesota signed Sam Darnold but is expected to make a play for a quarterback prospect in the draft.
Regardless of who they end up with, they won’t be a better player in 2024 than Kirk Cousins, and the club and its fans seem to be a little bitter over the situation.
“I know we talk about quarterback a lot — it is the most important position in our sport — but it’s the most important position in a team sport. It’s not just getting the quarterback right, it’s getting the quarterback right and the team around it,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensahsaid in a news conference.
Well, Minnesota’s GM is correct. It’s a team sport, but the Falcons are the perfect example of what can go wrong with that approach. For all intents and purposes, the club had a playoff-caliber roster last year and a very winnable division but were ultimately held back by their quarterback play.
Granted, what is Adofo-Mensahsaid supposed to say? It’s all coach speak. What’s not PR is the most notable Vikings fan looking obsessed with the new marriage between the Falcons and Cousins. Mike Florio founded Pro Football Talk, the world’s largest NFL blog, but he’s also an avid fan of Minnesota.
Florio suggested an insane punishment where the Falcons and Vikings swap first-round picks, Minnesota getting No. 8 and Atlanta receiving No. 11; it was ridiculous then, and it’s ridiculous now. But don’t let that stop you, Florio. He’s once again peddled fan fiction, and the rest of the Vikings fan base is running with it.
“The Falcons have the eighth pick in round one. The Vikings have the eleventh. What if the punishment is as simple as the Falcons and Vikings flip-flopping the two picks?” Mike Florio questioned.
It’s not that I believe the Falcons and Cousins didn’t tamper; it’s this obsession with Vikings fans, particularly Florio, in exacting revenge on Atlanta and Cousins. It’s weird.
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Photographer: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire
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