The Kirk Cousins era is finally over in Minnesota.
The longtime veteran starting quarterback signed a lucrative four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons that marks the end of a six-year tenure at the helm of the Minnesota Vikings offense.
Cousins’ time as a Viking produced mixed results that, fittingly, still leave us uncertain about the quarterback. The same questions that have followed Cousins throughout his entire career are still hanging over his head despite nearly a decade as a starting quarterback. His level of success is perfectly debatable. One’s view of Cousins likely hasn’t changed much during his tenure in Minnesota because he hasn’t produced much different results.
Cousins fans will point to the stat sheet and his efficiency as a pocket passer. By nearly any metric, Cousins is one of the most efficient football throwers in the NFL. He has exceeded 4,000 passing yards in all but one season as a full-time starter, during which he remained healthy (oddly enough, that season included his only playoff win).
Other evaluation sources, such as Pro Football Focus, think highly of Cousins. Package it together, and the pro-Cousins camp is equipped with plenty of ammo should it want to form an argument to the jury that Cousins is worth investing in. Plus, it’s not like the success was confined to a spreadsheet. The Vikings won a road playoff game thanks mainly to Cousins in 2019 and finished the 2022 season with an improbable 13-4 record. Ultimately, the Vikings remained competitive every season Cousins was in Minnesota despite some weak supporting casts.
Conversely, Cousins’ detractors likely weren’t swayed from their initial stance on the quarterback after six seasons in Minnesota. When he first signed with the Vikings, Cousins’ arm talent and ability as a pure passer were clear. He had no problem filling the stat sheet in Washington, and people expected him to fill the stat sheet in Minnesota.
However, the primary concern was filling up the win column. His teams were mediocre during his three-year stint as Washington’s starting quarterback – a record of 24-23-1 from 2015 to 2017. He won an NFC East title in 2015 after a 9-7 season but fell at home in the Wild Card round.
Cousins didn’t have more postseason success in Minnesota than in Washington. They stole a postseason win from the New Orleans Saints on the road. But other than that, the Vikings made no progress in pursuing a Lombardi Trophy. Minnesota arguably took a step backward since Cousins joined the Vikings because they had earned a berth in the NFC Championship game a year before Cousins signed.
That brings us to the present day and Cousins’ next chapter in Atlanta. The same questions continue to hang over his head. Can he deliver in the postseason? Is Cousins the type of quarterback that can take a team on the cusp of a playoff run over the hump?
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Cousins will get the chance to finally push back on the popular narrative that he struggles in big moments with the Falcons. Atlanta’s roster is solid on both sides of the ball. He’ll have a respectable offensive line and an exciting group of skill position players to get the ball to, including Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London – who have all shown flashes of potential despite poor quarterback play over the past couple of seasons.
The NFC South may be the most notable component to Cousins’ new situation because it appears ripe for the taking. As soon as Cousins put pen to paper on the new contract, he became the best quarterback in his division, and the Falcons became the best team in the division. However, it’s more than fair to set the expectation that, provided the recovery from the Achilles injury is on a good pace and he stays healthy, Cousins should lead the Falcons to an NFC South title and a home playoff game.
That’s when the NFL world – fans, media, coaches, everybody — will learn a lot about Cousins and the Vikings.
Should Cousins succeed in Atlanta and lead a deep playoff run, questions will quickly arise about the operation in Minnesota. What was he given in Atlanta that he didn’t have in Minnesota? Was Cousins carrying a subpar team to mediocrity essentially the whole time while he was a Viking?
Meanwhile, if Cousins fails to produce any significant playoff success with the Falcons, there will be some conclusive answers to those questions about Cousins and the Vikings. Perhaps it was a mistake to extend Cousins. Maybe Cousins just doesn’t have “it” when his team needs it most, and the teams that invested big dollars in Cousins were unwise to do so.
Furthermore, perhaps the overtime playoff win in the 2019 postseason at New Orleans hurt the Vikings in the long haul. It sparked contract extensions for both Cousins and coach Mike Zimmer, which ultimately netted .500 records in return.
It’s remarkable how Cousins has constructed such a strong dichotomy of perspectives on his career. It’s rare to find a fan who isn’t firmly on one side or the other regarding the eternal Cousins debate.
Cousins’ fresh start in Atlanta could be the opportunity he needed to silence the critics and legitimize his long career as a starting quarterback. It appears he’ll get opportunities to win playoff games – will he take advantage?
This opportunity could also cement the doubters’ perspective and permanently cloud Cousins’ legacy as an NFL starting quarterback.
Indeed, the verdict on Cousins’ career is coming soon.
