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Kirk Cousins made the shocking decision to depart the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 NFL free agency period. Many around the league believed that he would sign a new contract to remain with the team, but he instead joined the Atlanta Falcons on a massive four-year deal worth $180 million.
Many around the NFL were surprised by the outcome of this situation, including former NFL quarterback Cam Newton. He believes that the Falcons overpaid for Cousins and could have been better off with other options, such as himself. He discussed his opinion during a recent episode of Club Shay Shay.
Newton explained:
"What the Falcons paid for Kirk Cousins, they could have got Cam Newton, Justin Fields, and Michael Vick for that price. I'm not saying that to shame Cousins, my take personally was, 'Cam's getting old, he ain't getting no younger, he 32 at the time. He's coming off of a shoulder injury, all the things that are not 'serious injuries,' they're not career-ending.' So now you're giving this person the money, coming off of the injury."
"So how am I supposed to feel? Because the same questions and the same concerns that you had with me, obviously you don't overlook that. You see, you don't have those same concerns with him. And if you give Cousins my resume, he probably would've got more money. But I'm tripping, I'm bitter, and I'm mad."
Cam Newton seems to feel slighted that Kirk Cousins is coming off of a "worse" injury than he was and at an older age than he was when he was unable to find a starting job as a quarterback. He last played for the New England Patriots during the 2020 NFL season, before being considered by most to be "done" in terms of being a starter.
Newton also explained that he had more success than Cousins during his career, including winning an NFL MVP award and making a Super Bowl appearance with the Carolina Panthers. While Cousins has struggled to ever find that kind of postseason success, he has still been one of the most consistently productive quarterbacks in the NFL.
Kirk Cousins brings stability and hope to the Falcons
Kirk Cousins has proven to be consistent and reliable during his career as a starting quarterback and a case can be made that he has improved as he has gotten older.
Prior to his season-ending Achilles injury last year, he had exceeded 4,000 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in seven of his nine previous seasons. His four best quarterback ratings have also all come over the past five years.
The Atlanta Falcons suffered through some of the worst quarterback play in the NL last season as Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke were a disaster. They still managed to narrowly miss out on making it to the NFL Playoffs. In theory, by adding a top-level quarterback like Cousins, they can become legitimate postseason contenders and a true threat to win the NFC South division title this year.
