Netflix released the second season of the docuseries Quarterback on Tuesday, and just like the first time they featured him, former Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Kirk Cousins became the center of attention.
Just like the last time he used the Omaha Productions masterpiece to get a massive bag in free agency, Cousins created headlines when he opened up on the Atlanta Falcons’ decision to take Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the NFL Draft months after signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.
“Certainly, if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision,” Cousins said while sitting in an Adirondack chair next to his wife in what we can assume was his perfectly landscaped backyard.
“I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there if both teams are going to be drafting a quarterback high. But I’ve also learned in 12 years in this league that you’re not entitled to anything. It’s all about being able to earn your spot and prove yourself.”
Seeing Cousins comments make those comments wasn’t as entertaining as if we saw him scream “FRICK” at the top of his lungs the moment Penix was drafted. Nor is it as good as Cousins pleading to the camera for someone to get him out of Atlanta as two giant dudes in Falcons polos hauled him away. Still, Cousins’ comments revealed that his departure from Minnesota involved two parties trying to outsmart each other and doing the Vikings a massive favor in the process.
The teams recruiting Cousins during the 2024 offseason engaged in a heavyweight matchup. In one corner, we had “The Head of the Negotiation Table.” Cousins owns an 83-74-2 record during his career and has one playoff win. The playoff win probably helped him secure another $200 million from the Vikings after his initial, fully guaranteed, three-year, $84 million contract expired. If Cousins were as aggressive on a fourth-and-eight as he was in contract negotiations, Kevin O’Connell would already have his first playoff win.
Cousins needed one desperate party to cave into his demands. For years, that team was the Vikings.
Former general manager Rick Spielman could build a competitive roster, but he never found a solution to the quarterback position. When he worked in Miami, he picked Daunte Culpepper’s shredded knee over Drew Brees’s mangled shoulder. That decision got him fired, and he came to Minnesota just in time to select Christian Ponder. A few years later, Spielman chose Teddy Bridgewater, only for him to suffer a career-altering leg injury in practice.
Like a fantasy football manager sick of finishing in last place, Spielman went overkill and signed Cousins even though Mike Zimmer wanted to spend money on defense. Four seasons and one playoff win later, Spielman and Zimmer lost their jobs, but the new regime led by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell kept him around. The Vikings had eight fourth-quarter comebacks and a division title in 2022. However, he made a poor decision in a playoff game against the New York Giants, and Adofo-Mensah earmarked 2024 as the year to move on, which was the correct course of action.
Still, O’Connell wasn’t convinced. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that “no one in the building wanted Cousins back more than O’Connell,” and he could be the bridge to whichever quarterback they selected in the 2024 draft.
Unfortunately, there was a team more desperate than the Vikings. The Falcons were still reeling after blowing a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl and endured a stretch of six-straight losing seasons following their 10-6 finish in 2017. They upset Matt Ryan after flirting with Deshaun Watson in 2022 and endured two years of a partnership between Desmond Ridder and Arthur Smith.
With Falcons owner Arthur Blank creeping into his 80s, he may be one of the few people who takes the phrase “Just win one before I die” more seriously than Vikings fans. While Cousins may not have had a reason to leave Minnesota, he had $100 million guaranteed reasons to go to Atlanta.
The only problem? They might as well have put $100 million in the same trap Elmer Fudd used to lure Bugs Bunny. Cousins took the bait and succumbed to the allure of a long-term contract he wanted. The Falcons also got what they wanted. Not only did they have their stopgap to win games now, but they had their quarterback of the future when they selected Penix.
However, the Falcons may have ultimately outsmarted themselves. Cousins aged out quickly, and Penix was the starter by the end of the year. The Falcons still have Penix’s rookie contract on the books, but they also have Cousins’ massive contract that they thought they could trade. It turns out that no team wants to invest $100 million in a quarterback a year removed from a torn Achilles and who Atlanta benched last season.
There’s also the whole rookie quarterback window, which general manager Terry Fontenot never opened despite drafting a rookie quarterback. With no cap space to acquire free agents, he had to trade his 2026 first-round pick to get a second one in this year’s draft last April. Maybe Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. will pan out. But Fontenot is now depending on that and the performance of a first-year starter to keep his job.
That leaves the Vikings laughing in the corner. They have a huge unknown at quarterback, with J.J. McCarthy preparing for his first year as a starter. But they also used the money they would have paid Cousins to turn a perennial .500 squad into a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Even if McCarthy doesn’t pan out, the Vikings have the resources to take another crack at it in a quarterback class headlined by Arch Manning.
It’s something that may not have been possible if Cousins had taken another fully guaranteed deal to stay in Minnesota. The Vikings are probably glad Atlanta outbid them.
