Vikings' Kirk Cousins to Falcons in Free Agency? Veteran Deemed 'Best Fit' with Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons have a couple different directions they can go in at the quarterback position this offseason.
The Falcons should seek any and all upgrades from Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, who have both struggled at times this season for Atlanta.
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ESPN believes Minnesota Vikings free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins is best fit for the Falcons.
"The Vikings should be in the mix to re-sign Cousins, but I think he fits really well with Atlanta under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson (who worked under Sean McVay in Los Angeles)," ESPN writes. "It works well for Cousins in both the play-action and dropback passing game. Before tearing his right Achilles in Week 8, Cousins was completing 69.5% of his throws and had 18 touchdown passes to five interceptions. He would be an upgrade under center for an Atlanta offense that has plenty of young offensive skill talent in Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson."
Will they decide to go for a 35-year-old coming off a torn Achilles over someone else like Russell Wilson or a rookie in a stacked draft class? It's hard to tell.
In eight games for the Vikings this season, Cousins threw for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions, putting him on pace for some of the best numbers of his career.
Cousins also has ties to the city ... he and his wife Julie were married in Atlanta in 2014. A move to the Falcons would be closer to Julie's home for his family of four.
Signing Cousins would certainly be a risk, but even a slight upgrade from Ridder and Heinicke could get the Falcons into the postseason, and the Vikings signal-caller is more than a small improvement.
Would signing Cousins simply kick the rock of finding a true franchise quarterback down the line? Yes, but if the top options are likely to be gone before the Falcons can pick in this year's draft, it may be wise to go with a veteran like Cousins who can captain the ship for a bit.
