“They offered you $90 million” – John Middlekauff calls BS on Kirk Cousins’ claim he’d have stayed in Minnesota after chasing Falcons’ big payday

NFL analyst John Middlekauff responded to Kirk Cousins' comments about feeling "misled" by the Atlanta Falcons after the 2025 edition of the draft. After five and a half seasons and 88 games in Minnesota, Cousins recorded a passer rating of 101.2, throwing for 23,265 yards, 171 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.

On Sunday, Middlekauff reacted to Cousins' explanation in Season 2 of Netflix's "QUARTERBACK" docu-series, saying that nobody blames the veteran quarterback for picking money over loyalty to Minnesota, but the Falcons didn't enter the offseason with a clear plan.

"Kirk, they offered you $90 million. No one blames you for taking that money," Middlekauff said. "I've been saying this forever, when the Atlanta Falcons signed Cousins, they did not have the intention of drafting Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 overall. They did not. They fell in love with Cousins, 'cause mid-March, free agency starts, they sign Cousins. Then they fell in love with Penix over the next four, five weeks."

Then, Middlekauff said the circumstances prompted Atlanta to pair Cousins up with Penix in the quarterback room, which eventually led to his benching and presumably, the end of his tenure with the NFC South team.

Kirk Cousins explained that his first option was to stay in Minnesota, but after his Achilles injury, the Vikings didn't want to commit to the player for multiple years. That's when the Falcons showed up and lured Cousins away, but the decision to draft Michael Penix Jr. didn't sit well with him.

"I ended up signing with Atlanta and was pretty excited about the chance to get down there and start fresh. And then, I was pretty surprised when the NFL draft happened," Cousins said. "I wasn't expecting us to take a quarterback so high. At the time, it felt like I had been a little bit misled, or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would've affected my decision."

Kirk Cousins made a classy gesture after being benched for Michael Penix Jr.

Kirk Cousins showed his class after Raheem Morris benched him after a Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings (42-21) on Dec. 8. The 36-year-old called the rookie to let him know the job was yours, even if that meant he wouldn't get more action for the rest of the season or the immediate future after that.

His wife, Julie Cousins, lauded the veteran for such a nice gesture, celebrating Kirk Cousins for being a good man.

In 14 games, the former Washington Commanders and Vikings star recorded 303 completions on 454 pass attempts, throwing for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.