The Minnesota Vikings decided to let Kirk Cousins walk because keeping him in purple and gold would have been too expensive, but the resulting cost could be even higher.
The $180 million contract ($45 million annually) Cousins received from the Atlanta Falcons, which included $100 million guaranteed, isn’t a wild investment to make in a quarterback in the contemporary NFL — at least not in a general sense. However, Cousins will play next season at 36 years old and is coming off of an Achilles tear that represents the worst injury of his 12-year career.
Cousins
’ questionable value is what general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah avoided by allowing the QB to walk in free agency, and it’s what led Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report to characterize Cousins’ deal with the Falcons as the “riskiest contract in free agency” on Friday, March 29:
The question here isn’t whether Cousins makes the Falcons a better team. It’s whether he makes them good enough to justify $45 million per season and $100 million in guarantees.
To be fair, Cousins is a good quarterback. … But while Cousins may be good, he isn’t great — the 35-year-old has struggled in high-pressure situations, winning just one playoff game in five tries and going 19-36 in 4 p.m. ET and primetime games.
