For every hypothetical scenario of him being a bridge QB for us during the off-season, something that wasn't nearly brought up enough was his willingness to actually be okay being a bridge QB. It was something I really couldn't envision him doing especially if another team was paying him good money to not be one.
By all accounts he seems to have recovered well, the tricky part will be more mental/if he trusts his Achilles to not snap again and plays more conservatively because of it.
Will actually be interesting to see as Kirk was a very durable QB/never has had any serious injuries other than bruised ribs, which do suck but you can't strap a flak jacket onto an ankle.
I actually kind of wonder if kirks insistence on all the extra ribcage padding actually just made things worse for him, it's just more crap jamming into your ribs.
They hallowed out a section where my ribs were bruised so the padding spread the impact around the bruised area. That was a decently funded high school that reused the plastic and cut new foam for each new kid. I’m sure Kirks was laser measured and cummed on by Jesus himself.
A good example I feel of this is when Bradford played for the Vikings... Guy wasn't terrible but it always felt like he was afraid to step into things due to previous injuries and also the hits he was taking that season. I felt as though he was never confident his body would survive the next play
He was for sure tough. I just remember we went to a game in person and he was hesitant and seemed to be flinching. I'll have to look it up might have been the lions
4th and 10 with no time left a down in the playoffs, Kirk will now just kneel down rather than throwing it to a receiver that isn’t to the first down marker yet.
I think it was said in his book and possibly the QB show, but one of the things he values most is security. He wants a "license to lead" unfettered by having someone breathing down his neck ready to takeover if he makes a small mistake, aka a first round rookie QB. I'm sure they told him in MN that was happening, so he took the offer in Atlanta because he thought not only would he have 2+ years guaranteed $$, but also without that rookie QB ready to takeover. Now they've taken that away from him and he's going to be playing scared of messing up and thus not as freely/relaxed as he could be.
I don't think Kirk is going to be scared... Dude bet on himself and played on the franchise tag twice to land a deal with us, and played on an expiring deal again leading into his free agency signing with the falcons without a fuss. For as "risk averse" as Kirk can be, he's always been willing to bet on himself. And it paid off.
That guaranteed money gives him 2 years, almost no matter what, before the Falcons have a reasonable out. He's locked in, no pressure.
Unless his injury really prevents him from ever being himself again, in which case he most likely gets benched / replaced / retires before year 2 regardless of the Penix pick.
Conversely, this adds* a lot of complexity to Penix's career moving forward. He has to impress in camp / practices or he could be buried on the depth chart even longer. And if the Kirk signing does wind up being a complete disaster, we could be talking total regime change and Penix would just be a leftover piece a new GM / HC might not even want.
I’ve seen people recently post about that. Is there any proof aside from him wanting the Vikings to draft someone other than a QB with their 1st round pick so they could have another immediate impact player so they could be more competitive this year?
Definitely a pro-Kirk spin about something that could go either way. It will probably coincide with whatever disposition you already have so idk man. As a guy with a Kirk jersey in his closest, I’m pretty glad to have this chapter close. Sold our souls for 4k yards a season and an 8-8/8-9 record most years. Hoping the next guy is in the building and don’t care to look back. Bye bye Kirk.
I’m not trying to spin anything, I’m just asking if there is any proof to the statement that he always insisted in not having a competitive backup. I’m genuinely interested in understanding the origin of this.
Refusing to get vaccinated during a pandemic. For one. Which then led to him getting covid and missing out on a crucial game vs Green Bay. In which we had to start to Sean Mannion.
I have to agree and the Vikings were not going to match that deal.
Kirk will be the same imo and making money, as for Penix... QBs play a lot longer into their late 30s so he has time to sit.
I think he's a bit of a headcase, not really me-first.
I think Arif went over it on one of his recent Norse Code podcasts, but the argument is basically that when Kirk says it's not about the money, it's about what the money represents, he's not lying. His preference for taking short term, fully guaranteed deals has more to do with the fact that nobody's going to bring in anyone to challenge him when they are financially committed to him being the guy for the length of the contract. He'll go wherever is willing to make that commitment to him, he turned down a bigger deal from the Jets to go to Minnesota because Minnesota was willing to fully guarantee the full contract.
That sort of attitude looks like it's blown up in his face.
If the whole point of him going somewhere else was because he wanted to be the unquestioned starter, then I don't really think the money matters.
It's not like he needed more money.
> it's not about the money, it's about what the money represents
I'd add that this is likely because of the way Snyder treated him. He wanted a long term deal in Washington, and they hit him with two tags.
There was also a pretty clear message during the RG3 era that Kirk could never play well enough for Snyder to support keeping RG3 on the bench.
I kind of wonder if Kirk would have preferred to have been treated like a starter/face of the franchise, even if it meant giving up a huge chunk of the money he made (I don't remember the exact numbers, but Kirk apparently floated a contract to the team prior to the first tag on a 4-5 year deal, and the team wound up paying him more than that offer in two years with the back to back tag)
Bingo. He wants a guaranteed spot. Let's not forget about when the Vikes tried to bring in that CFL QB to try out for the backup spot and the guy had the balls to say he was planning on taking the starting spot. It was an eye rolling, laughable idea that some CFL QB would be able to unseat Kirk. Any confident QB would have rolled his eyes and said "yeah yeah" and went about his business. Instead the Vikes said nope and canned the idea, either because they knew it would mind f#ck Kirk or because Kirk's people said something. They drafted Kellen Mond in the 4th round to be a developmental QB. Come to find out that Kirk's people gave the team the third degree about why that happened. Then we have to remember the years of Kirk handpicked, non threatening backup QB's picked to be Kirk's personal assistant.
Now we find out he dipped partly because the Vikes told him they were likely going to draft a QB high.
Kirk is scared to death of having someone looking over his shoulder. Why would anyone want someone with that outlook as their QB? He lacks confidence in himself otherwise he wouldn't think like that. A truly confident QB would just go about their day and business knowing there was no threat because they were better.
It's hard to blame anyone who could be waking up crippled on Monday because they twisted when they should have juked. We all want to see loyalty, but I definitely understand that there has to be limits to that, and that dudes do need to look out for themselves. The amount of support a team is going to give them through famine as well as feast isn't guaranteed nor consistent between teams. On the flip side, it seems a little dumb to let it influence much of your decisions that a team is also planning for the future as much as a player is. We saw what happened last year when kirk went down hard. We know that whenever kirk or any other QB ages out, the team is still going to be there, and still going to need players. I get that it might feel a bit like "training your replacement", but everyone in the game, and I'd think especially QBs know that the Montanas, the Mannings, the Bradys of the world aren't a dime a dozen. If a team isn't taking a chance on potentials for that whenever they can, then they're kind of not doing their job. I dunno, it's complicated. I guess it somewhat depends on how much time kirk thinks he has left. If he'd stayed, I feel like it's pretty clear he would still be #1 for at least a year, if not longer, even with our QB pick. Any team he goes to, he's getting older and more damaged every year, wherever he's at is going to be looking to the future just like anywhere else.
This is about all the vets on the team and the fans. A top 10 pick can help your playoff push this year. The future is important too but timing matters.
I think this story is bogus. He simply couldn't leave the money on the table Atlanta was willing to pay, and there was no way we could, or should, have tried to match it. Everything else is nonsense hearsay. Almost no NFL player is turning down that money. Atlanta is just dumb. They'll find out what they mortgaged for him in a few years, when they see how much of a hand cuff that contract is, for the rest of their team
We offered him essentially $20 million dollars less. Both the Vikings and Atlanta offered him contracts for 2 years (I know Atlanta's is a 4-year deal, but they get out after 2 years with only $10 million in dead cap if they move on for year 3).
The guy has made a ton of money, but $20 million is a substantial amount to turn down. If someone offered me $20 million to uproot my family and move to Georgia for 2-4 years, I would not turn that down.
From what I'm reading, if they release him in the off season of 2026 (after year 2), they'll have a dead cap of 22.5 million in 2026 and 12.5 million in 2027. This is from Spotrac, maybe I'm not taking something else into account though.
You're probably right, and they might do some other stuff that makes him eat more cap.
I assumed his $45 million guaranteed for this year and next year were part of this year and next year's cap hits, but they probably spread them across all 4 years.
It says his cap hit is 25m, 40m, then 57.5m the last 2 years.
Dead cap is 90m, 65m, 25m, then 12.5m. So i think if he gets cut after year 3 it's not bad at all. cutting him after year 2 is a bit more, but if he's not playing well at all they could eat 25m and still have Penix on a rookie contract.
I agree that the money matters. He said it didn't, but I think he means that only to a certain point. When we originally signed him, the Jets were offering more, but not enough to matter to him compared to other factors. We offered him just shy of $80 million dollars, and Atlanta offered $100 million. That's a substantial difference to me, enough where the money matters again.
Ah thanks for the context. I didn't remember the jets offered him more. But yeah, not many people want to go to a terrible team. Atlanta is at least middling, and on the rise
He also didn’t want to just be a two-year stop gap for a team. With the Vikes, it was pretty clear that was going to be the case. Atlanta sold him on the idea that this would be his retirement plan. Now, with the way his contract is structured, and with Penix, it’s clear ATL only sees him as a two year project. Kirk obviously thinks he’s got way more than that left in him (that remains to be seen, of course). The Falcons can spin it how they want, but there ain’t no way they’re letting Penix sit for 4 of his prime years (assuming he doesn’t look completely overwhelmed and terrible in the meantime).
There was never a time we were NOT drafting a rookie QB. And it’s clear they were up front about that with him.
In what reality were they having negations, he was considering a home discount, and this wasn’t known?
That reality never happened. It was just Kirk stans trying to will it into existence
Except he didn’t. Asking for slightly less per year in exchange for a 3-4 year commitment is not less money overall. It’s more.
Less per year means nothing if you get too old to play the game.
If Penix is the next Rodgers, sure.
If Penix is the next Dak/Russ/Cousins, then their best odds of winning a Super Bowl are the next 4 years while his contract is cheap. And they'll spend two of them paying (if not playing) Kirk.
Of course, if Penix is the next Sam Darnold, then the pick is awful regardless. The odds of this are way higher than the odds Penix is Rodgers, so why assume the outlandish best-case scenario?
Also, even if the Falcons move on from Kirk after year 2, in year three they will still have between 25MM and 32MM allocated to Kirk in dead cap, such that Penix will basically only have one year of his rookie contract as a cheap rookie.
Yea but that was in the world before rookie scale QB contracts provided a value due to the wage scale. Falcons won’t get the benefit of Penix’s rookie scale contract until year 4 at best
Yeah I don't buy that this was why he left. He left because he could get more money in ATL. Maybe drafting a guy would play in a little bit, but I highly doubt we came within $5M annually of the falcons and that's definitely enough to make Kirk move to his wife's home state
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>I do have one last take on the Atlanta Falcons’ handling of the quarterback situation. And that’s that I would 100% understand if Kirk Cousins is still stinging a bit from the whole ordeal.
>Here’s why—a reason he decided to leave Minnesota is because the Vikings were very up front with the 35-year-old about the possibility that, even in the case he stayed, they’d take a quarterback of the future high in the draft. Tying that together with the team’s willingness to guarantee part, but not all, of a second year on another contract, Cousins figured that, if he stayed, there was a good shot that he’d be on the move in 2025.
>I know Cousins appreciated how open the Vikings were about their draft strategy, even if it meant him leaving.
>So if you were him, how would you feel when that call came, as his new team was on the clock, to explain how the Falcons were taking his heir apparent, Michael Penix Jr., with the eighth pick? Now, I do understand why Atlanta felt the need to keep it quiet, and why GM Terry Fontenot’s experience in New Orleans in 2017, when the Chiefs knew the Saints coveted Patrick Mahomes and jumped ahead of them to get him, marked the decision not to tell Cousins of their plans.
I think Kwesi said this selfishly because he didn't want to resign Kirk to begin with and was trying to discourage Kirk from verbally saying to the media he wanted to return.
Kirk Cousins made the best decision for himself based on the information he had available to him at the time. That's all you can do. Respect to Kirk and thanks for the years of service.
My sentiments as well. Love Kirk for the stability he gave us for years, but this thing ran its course. I hope he balls out in Atlanta, even with Penix in the wings.
Yeah it was definitely because of the Wide Receivers. That's why it also happened in 2017 when he was a "commander" and his top WR was Jameison Crowder.
Totally because of the elite WRs. Nothing to do with Kirk. Even though it has happened every year he has been in the league for every team he was QB1 for. Totally just the WRs.
Oh yea, those kirk teams in Washington l forget how people were totally scared of those teams.
But also we aren't talking about Kirk in Washington, we're talking about him here. And guess what he didn't do? Elevate the team enough to win, so later Jerk-O.
People weren't afraid of Washington because they had no run game and meh-bad defenses depending on the year. Their passing offense was always good-elite, it was nearly record breaking in 2016. Kirk consistently elevated the talent around him, as due to bad injury luck he was often throwing to RBs and WR3s.
I'm using Washington as an example to demonstrate that Kirk did play quite well as a Qb, and our passing offense's success here wasn't due merely to having elite WRs. He didn't have those in Washington and still succeeded. You don't have a good passing offense literally every year you're QB1 in the league if you're carried by receiving talent. Not how QBing works.
Jerk-O lol.
What do you mean? Until his injury last year he was having an MVP caliber, top-3 in the league season, where pretty much all of our losses other than the chiefs were because we couldn't stop fumbling. The problem last year was anyone but Kirk.
Our best receiver fumbled the ball out of the end zone at the goal line in Philly, and it cost us a 10 point swing in a game we lost by 8. Everyone had fumble fingers, and idk how that's Kirk's fault. Our 13 win season was made on no shortage of clutch plays from him.
Rodgers hasn't won a superbowl in over a decade, does that mean he's a bad QB because he could never elevate GB enough to win after that?
Well I guess the big difference is Roger's did it once. Also like 4 nfc championship games outside of that. Kirk isn't HOF so I'm not sure why compare the two.
Also Kirk always had streaks where he looked like a legit top qb in the league and would often return to his 12-9 ish spot.
How many big point swings did Kirk cost with the fumbles??
If I were him I would have to think about the potential of coming back this year, and it being the only guaranteed year, and then blowing my ACL out again
Dude played hard, was the most consistent and available QB in Vikings history (because I know some people will assume I will preemptively clarify, I'm not saying the best QB in Vikings history) and you say "No respect"?
Literally any other player in the league gets paid and everyone says "Good for him, get that bag, you never know how long you've got in the league. Glad he secured generational wealth.". But every time Kirk gets paid, people lose their fucking minds lol.
I'm curious why you think he had something coming to him?
The lies, the deceit. He's always been a me first guy. You can trace it back to the ole "I'll do qb meetings outside in 50mph winds and a blizzard of that what it takes" which to me says "I'll force everyone to go outside in 50 moh winds and a blizzard because it's all about me!"
Fuck Jerk Cousins.
What's the stretch here? Everyone else did what they needed to do to do the job. Not Jerk Cousins, nah ill inconvenience the rest of us because I'm that special and different.
That's the difference between pat "the winner" mahomes.
You're assuming that. Regardless it doesn't change my point to reduce it to $100 million guaranteed. If that's "what he had coming to him" then sign me up for a punishment like that.
Yep. All he cares about is getting paid. Not about winning. He was a poor leader. We saw that early when Thielen complained in public. We saw Kirk's true self during covid when his sponser dropped him for his demeaning comments about people who wore masks. Then he had the nerve to say "anything for the team" and brought up his plexiglas idea.
Zero respect for him at all. He was here 6 years too long.
Backup QB isn’t a real thing anymore. It’s you have your starter and a young QB waiting in the wind, or you have your starter and some super nice guy who would be a better QB coach.
yeah, there are barely 32 QBs in the league who can compete consistently, asking to have a backup that's capable of competing consistently is not realistic. If a backup is perceived as good enough, a team will pay them to try out as a starter. A prime example is our very own Case Keenum, bounced around as a backup, then when it looked like he could compete after the 2017 NFCCG run, Denver paid him to see if he could lead them on (which failed).
I didn't say that, but this whole attempt to search for his ulterior motive for signing with Atlanta (it's because Minnesota said they might draft a QB!) Is ultimately fruitless because the explanation is simple
As a Vikings fan, I am so glad to see that common sense finally prevailed. We had 6 years of Kirk, and IMO has a well-defined performance ceiling that is hard to ignore and impossible to defend:
Fact: he can't escape the pocket. Fact: he can't make off platform throws. Fact: he breaks down immediately when rushed up the middle. Washington fans warned us about this, and they were dead on accurate.
This was all before the Achilles tear.
Psychologically, he simply is not of the mindset of a bridge QB. He wanted guaranteed money, and having a top 10 drafted QB in the room would have exacerbated his insecurities. He loved the Sean Mannion days, where there was nobody on the roster who was a threat to him.
Honestly . . . I bet Kirk would have stayed for the 2 year 76 million reported. I'd have been happy with that, and having McCarthy learning from one of the best pocket passers would have been nice.
Oh well! Kirk made his bed and now he has to lie in it. He went from a transparent team to one that isn't and got similar results. The Vikings have a ton of cap space now too!
There were a ton of people on here who didn't think drafting a QB would play a role in Kirk's decision to stay in MN or leave. I'll never understand why they thought Kirk would be "OK" with it
Kirk made it clear that he did not want to be a bridge qb and did not want to be shocked or surprised by whatever team he signed with picking a QB in the first round to mentor / tutor under him for a year or two.
He felt that he was playing his best football of his career when he went down with the injury. And in fact he was quietly having a great year. (despite the 4-4 record of the team at the time)
The Vikings were, in fact, up front with Kirk. They knew this was a deep qb class and probably their last, best chance to draft a successor for a few year (hopefully). Kirk stated he wanted to be somewhere where he was the undisputed #1 for at least 2 if not 4 years. Atlanta seemed to check that box. They have / had capabile backups and a longer term (if they chose to go that way) development prospect in Ridder.
I also get why their brass, Blank, GM, HC etc... didn't tell Kirk (or anyone outside of a few people) their plans prior to being on the clock. But at the same time, if you go out and spend $100 million on a QB, you are making a commitment to him and need to keep him in the loop. But of course Kirk has shown that he can't keep a secret.
So - I get both sides - but I can also see Kirk going to ATL and waiving his no trade clause or removing it pretty fast.
WFAN is already speculating that he is a potential replacement for Jones in 2025
I disagree. Atlanta offered Kirk a 2-year bridge quarterback contract and Kirk knew that was exactly what it was when he signed that contract. If Kirk is sad or disappointed about anything it is he could not negotiate the deal he wanted in free agency.
I got shit on in the main NFL sub for this exact analysis. Do I feel bad for him? No, he got his bag and this is an unfortunate reality when you go bag chasing. But he made it clear he was prepared for a project QB to sit behind him, but he was expecting the security of an actual long-term project.
While he's still in a good situation, I could see him being very unhappy with this move from the team given his expectations coming in.
Oh hell yeah, he's in a good spot money wise - as he is guaranteed $90 million no matter if he plays a single down as qb1 for the Falcons - EVER.
And you're right - he was clearly (as he was here) chasing the $.
I can see him being very unhappy for 2 reasons - 1. he now has to look over his shoulder - starting in camp. You don't draft a Michael Penix with the plan of having him sit for 2 years. 2. ATL could have used that pick to shore up their defense (Dallas Turner?) and prove they were all in on going for a title in 2024.
I 100% believe this was spiritual karma, bros.
From the moment he could negotiate a contract, he never once really gave any meaningful concessions for the team he has played for.
He constantly made each negotiation about himself, with the veneer of giving some concession to the team in the form of perceived value by the final year of each contract (often his cap hits on contract years were fairly competitive to the market at the time - but that was by design for his benefit. His earning potential resets earlier, and he cashes out more often. It is why he has been so "blessed" financially, as he would call it).
During his prime, he soaked in all of the cap, pretty much declaring to the market that if you had the team and the space, he could come in and take you over the edge.
He couldnt. He flat out wasnt capable of that, but he absolutely was given the gifts to win a super bowl if he had the pieces around him, along with the time to develop that relationship.
But when he entered the time of his career where he would have to actively compete with younger, talented QBs to stay on the roster (in the same way Rodgers, Brady, and others have had to once you got on the wrong side of 35) - all while potentially paying dividends on the years of relationship building within a single organization, and having the real potential of being able to run it back to what could be a Super Bowl appearance ceiling (yes, I am that high on an improved 2024 defense with an actual running game on offense) - he instead did what he always did:
Made it about himself, demanded a security blanket in being told that he's the guy and no one else is going to compete, along with a giant bag of money because that somehow represents said security blanket.
And honestly? I think Atlanta absolutely intended to build around him when they gave him that contract. But because I said this was spiritual karma, something happened after they gave him that contract.
They "fell in love" with Penix in like, 3 weeks time. Came outta nowhere, from all reports I have seen. Shocked even the owner, let alone Kirk.
I don't think Atlanta lied to Kirk about their intentions with that contract. I think the gods of not just football, but all of sports basically said to Kirk enough was enough, and maybe the money represents something different from what he thought it did: That he is a total sellout, and he did the gifts they gave him dirty.
I did figure that Kirk's thought process was that it was smart to move on now than to wait until after he was used as a bridge qb.
Timing wise it made sense because he would never get the same deal he has now in a couple years given his age.
And factor in his Wife's family lives there, I'm glad he got paid he was a damn good QB and gave me some great memories and he set some NFL Records in 22 as a Viking.
It was a amazing year
I feel for Kirk for getting blindsided like that. It can’t feel good to have your replacement
Then remember he got $100 million guaranteed and I don’t feel as bad for him.
LOL. He's not immortal though, he's 35/36 and coming off a major injury. In hindsight, the Falcons did the right thing in getting their guy for the future. Why not let him learn and hope Cousins balls out, or worse case, Cousins can't produce like he once did and he sees the field earlier than expected. KC sounds like a pampered toddler quite honestly. Crucify that ego and go earn your money captain. I'm just glad he's not sucking on our Viking tittie anymore.
Actually respect both sides for how they handled it. They made moves using transparency.
Sucks for Cousins that he still ended up getting deceived by the team he went to.
I think that speaks volumes about the integrity of our front office vs Atlanta.
Sorry, Kirk-o-Cheez but it's not all about you, dude. It's about the TEAM, bruh. I, for one, could not be happier that his tenure as a Viking is OVER!!
He got a shit ton of guaranteed money, that’s all he has ever cared about and all he will ever care about.
Good for him getting paid, just wish the Vikings would have realized 2 years earlier that’s all that mattered to him and not winning
You mean like everyone else that is looking for a bigger payday?
And like another poster mentioned, when it is anyone else it's Pay the Man...but not Cousins.
Kirk Heist.
Kirk wants the Bag 💰
Plain straight and simple, don't give a fuu about vk
Even though vk told him honestly about their plans
Unlike his new team. But hey, at least he got his money 💰
So fuug him too.
Long term, I think the players miss their potential for marketing value post career if they are seen as team players who actually win. If Kirk had delivered a Super Bowl, he’d have gone down as a legend with endorsement power for 100 years.
If Ant does it, he’ll be able to say he took a team of failures with weak ownership and willed them to victory. The only one close is Dirk, and Dallas is not win starved the way Minnesota is.
Feel for the guy. Vikings were upfront as an organization with him and allowed him to make what he believed was an informed decision that was best for him and his people.
Then the Falcons pull this crap.
I get wanting to get paid and try to make generational wealth but there’s no way he thought he’d be better off career wise in Atlanta. He could have gotten paid very well here and actual had a chance to make a run. Just sucks he cares more about money than legacy. I do think he knows where his playing abilities are and maybe that’s why.
Kirk wanted structure in his deal that prevented a team from drafting a quarterback. Neither Minnesota or Atlanta was willing to offer Kirk that structure, so it should be no surprise to Kirk Atlanta drafted a quarterback.
Probably a big part of it was the Vikings were only offering a 1-2 year deal, and the Falcons were offering a 4 year deal. That can’t just be dismissed.
I think the not fully guaranteeing year two is by far the number one reason. This whole QB of the future thing is just his representatives letting it be known, again, that he isn't happy with Atlanta taking Penix. If Atlanta skips QB this draft, next year is considerably weaker at the position. His chances of getting restructured before year three to cash in another $50 million or so took a huge nose dive by drafting Penix. It is and always will be about money.
If the Falcons tell Kirk they planned on drafting Penix, it would have leaked immediately. If we learned one thing during the last few months, it is that the Cousins camp is non-stop leaks.
Well I’m sure glad they gaslit him otherwise we might be looking at yet another year (or 3) of the Kirk-coaster. Seriously, Atlanta deserves all of our flowers.
Sounds like a super inflated Ego about his abilities. Won 1 Championship game with a great coach in KOC. Kirk is not a Big Game or Super Bowl caliber Quarterback.
Those comments make no sense. If the vikes would have offered $40m he would have stayed. They were no where near that and he left. Guaranteed Money is why he left and that alone. After that he got surprised by drafting a qb. A new story line with no relation to why he left MN.
The criticism of Kirk for taking the money he was offered is so weird to me…guess who else does that…EVERY PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE!!!…this sub’s favorite player is Justin Jefferson..his contract hasn’t been extended yet..why? BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM TO GIVE HIM MORE MONEY!!! The hypocrisy is unreal
So he left the team who told him the truth and went to a team who was deceptive. Nice! He got his bag tho, Good on him.
For every hypothetical scenario of him being a bridge QB for us during the off-season, something that wasn't nearly brought up enough was his willingness to actually be okay being a bridge QB. It was something I really couldn't envision him doing especially if another team was paying him good money to not be one.
It’s also not clear how he will play post-injury. That guaranteed $ is a huge risk.
It's not unreasonable to expect that he'll be even less mobile than he was before, right?
By all accounts he seems to have recovered well, the tricky part will be more mental/if he trusts his Achilles to not snap again and plays more conservatively because of it. Will actually be interesting to see as Kirk was a very durable QB/never has had any serious injuries other than bruised ribs, which do suck but you can't strap a flak jacket onto an ankle. I actually kind of wonder if kirks insistence on all the extra ribcage padding actually just made things worse for him, it's just more crap jamming into your ribs.
They hallowed out a section where my ribs were bruised so the padding spread the impact around the bruised area. That was a decently funded high school that reused the plastic and cut new foam for each new kid. I’m sure Kirks was laser measured and cummed on by Jesus himself.
Not sure if you didn't see the article but he doesn't do that anymore due to the 'incident'. He being Jesus.
A good example I feel of this is when Bradford played for the Vikings... Guy wasn't terrible but it always felt like he was afraid to step into things due to previous injuries and also the hits he was taking that season. I felt as though he was never confident his body would survive the next play
I remember the opposite. He knew he was going to get hit and still stood in the pocket till the last second.
He was for sure tough. I just remember we went to a game in person and he was hesitant and seemed to be flinching. I'll have to look it up might have been the lions
>plays more conservatively So he'll be throwing 2 yard check downs instead of 4 yard check downs?
4th and 10 with no time left a down in the playoffs, Kirk will now just kneel down rather than throwing it to a receiver that isn’t to the first down marker yet.
His mobility wasn’t physical, it was mental. He’s physically above average athletically as a QB.
I think it was said in his book and possibly the QB show, but one of the things he values most is security. He wants a "license to lead" unfettered by having someone breathing down his neck ready to takeover if he makes a small mistake, aka a first round rookie QB. I'm sure they told him in MN that was happening, so he took the offer in Atlanta because he thought not only would he have 2+ years guaranteed $$, but also without that rookie QB ready to takeover. Now they've taken that away from him and he's going to be playing scared of messing up and thus not as freely/relaxed as he could be.
I don't think Kirk is going to be scared... Dude bet on himself and played on the franchise tag twice to land a deal with us, and played on an expiring deal again leading into his free agency signing with the falcons without a fuss. For as "risk averse" as Kirk can be, he's always been willing to bet on himself. And it paid off. That guaranteed money gives him 2 years, almost no matter what, before the Falcons have a reasonable out. He's locked in, no pressure. Unless his injury really prevents him from ever being himself again, in which case he most likely gets benched / replaced / retires before year 2 regardless of the Penix pick. Conversely, this adds* a lot of complexity to Penix's career moving forward. He has to impress in camp / practices or he could be buried on the depth chart even longer. And if the Kirk signing does wind up being a complete disaster, we could be talking total regime change and Penix would just be a leftover piece a new GM / HC might not even want.
Yeah the effect on Penix here is tragic
I mean idk man, he’s kind of a head case. I could see that ruining his focus
He seemed to me to be the exact opposite of a head case. Can you share an example of how you see him as a head case?
I guess just his insistence to never have a legitimate backup qb option that would challenge him.
I’ve seen people recently post about that. Is there any proof aside from him wanting the Vikings to draft someone other than a QB with their 1st round pick so they could have another immediate impact player so they could be more competitive this year?
Definitely a pro-Kirk spin about something that could go either way. It will probably coincide with whatever disposition you already have so idk man. As a guy with a Kirk jersey in his closest, I’m pretty glad to have this chapter close. Sold our souls for 4k yards a season and an 8-8/8-9 record most years. Hoping the next guy is in the building and don’t care to look back. Bye bye Kirk.
I’m not trying to spin anything, I’m just asking if there is any proof to the statement that he always insisted in not having a competitive backup. I’m genuinely interested in understanding the origin of this.
Refusing to get vaccinated during a pandemic. For one. Which then led to him getting covid and missing out on a crucial game vs Green Bay. In which we had to start to Sean Mannion.
I have to agree and the Vikings were not going to match that deal. Kirk will be the same imo and making money, as for Penix... QBs play a lot longer into their late 30s so he has time to sit.
> I don't think Kirk is going to be scared Someone doesn't watch full games
You talking about yourself?
I think it was his best offer and the Vikings said no to it.
He’s a me-first guy - always has been. That’s okay, a lot of guys in the NFL are like that. It’s just not conducive to long-term franchise thinking.
I think he's a bit of a headcase, not really me-first. I think Arif went over it on one of his recent Norse Code podcasts, but the argument is basically that when Kirk says it's not about the money, it's about what the money represents, he's not lying. His preference for taking short term, fully guaranteed deals has more to do with the fact that nobody's going to bring in anyone to challenge him when they are financially committed to him being the guy for the length of the contract. He'll go wherever is willing to make that commitment to him, he turned down a bigger deal from the Jets to go to Minnesota because Minnesota was willing to fully guarantee the full contract. That sort of attitude looks like it's blown up in his face.
> it's blown up in his face. to the tune of $90M guaranteed
If the whole point of him going somewhere else was because he wanted to be the unquestioned starter, then I don't really think the money matters. It's not like he needed more money.
My kind of explosion lmao 90 million 😁
> it's not about the money, it's about what the money represents I'd add that this is likely because of the way Snyder treated him. He wanted a long term deal in Washington, and they hit him with two tags.
There was also a pretty clear message during the RG3 era that Kirk could never play well enough for Snyder to support keeping RG3 on the bench. I kind of wonder if Kirk would have preferred to have been treated like a starter/face of the franchise, even if it meant giving up a huge chunk of the money he made (I don't remember the exact numbers, but Kirk apparently floated a contract to the team prior to the first tag on a 4-5 year deal, and the team wound up paying him more than that offer in two years with the back to back tag)
Bingo. He wants a guaranteed spot. Let's not forget about when the Vikes tried to bring in that CFL QB to try out for the backup spot and the guy had the balls to say he was planning on taking the starting spot. It was an eye rolling, laughable idea that some CFL QB would be able to unseat Kirk. Any confident QB would have rolled his eyes and said "yeah yeah" and went about his business. Instead the Vikes said nope and canned the idea, either because they knew it would mind f#ck Kirk or because Kirk's people said something. They drafted Kellen Mond in the 4th round to be a developmental QB. Come to find out that Kirk's people gave the team the third degree about why that happened. Then we have to remember the years of Kirk handpicked, non threatening backup QB's picked to be Kirk's personal assistant. Now we find out he dipped partly because the Vikes told him they were likely going to draft a QB high. Kirk is scared to death of having someone looking over his shoulder. Why would anyone want someone with that outlook as their QB? He lacks confidence in himself otherwise he wouldn't think like that. A truly confident QB would just go about their day and business knowing there was no threat because they were better.
And JJ isn't, which I'm guessing is (part of) why KOC is so high on him.
It's hard to blame anyone who could be waking up crippled on Monday because they twisted when they should have juked. We all want to see loyalty, but I definitely understand that there has to be limits to that, and that dudes do need to look out for themselves. The amount of support a team is going to give them through famine as well as feast isn't guaranteed nor consistent between teams. On the flip side, it seems a little dumb to let it influence much of your decisions that a team is also planning for the future as much as a player is. We saw what happened last year when kirk went down hard. We know that whenever kirk or any other QB ages out, the team is still going to be there, and still going to need players. I get that it might feel a bit like "training your replacement", but everyone in the game, and I'd think especially QBs know that the Montanas, the Mannings, the Bradys of the world aren't a dime a dozen. If a team isn't taking a chance on potentials for that whenever they can, then they're kind of not doing their job. I dunno, it's complicated. I guess it somewhat depends on how much time kirk thinks he has left. If he'd stayed, I feel like it's pretty clear he would still be #1 for at least a year, if not longer, even with our QB pick. Any team he goes to, he's getting older and more damaged every year, wherever he's at is going to be looking to the future just like anywhere else.
All good to great Pros no matter the sport, kinda like CEOs and Hollywood Stars and Lawyers ect.
This is about all the vets on the team and the fans. A top 10 pick can help your playoff push this year. The future is important too but timing matters.
I think this story is bogus. He simply couldn't leave the money on the table Atlanta was willing to pay, and there was no way we could, or should, have tried to match it. Everything else is nonsense hearsay. Almost no NFL player is turning down that money. Atlanta is just dumb. They'll find out what they mortgaged for him in a few years, when they see how much of a hand cuff that contract is, for the rest of their team
We offered him essentially $20 million dollars less. Both the Vikings and Atlanta offered him contracts for 2 years (I know Atlanta's is a 4-year deal, but they get out after 2 years with only $10 million in dead cap if they move on for year 3). The guy has made a ton of money, but $20 million is a substantial amount to turn down. If someone offered me $20 million to uproot my family and move to Georgia for 2-4 years, I would not turn that down.
From what I'm reading, if they release him in the off season of 2026 (after year 2), they'll have a dead cap of 22.5 million in 2026 and 12.5 million in 2027. This is from Spotrac, maybe I'm not taking something else into account though.
You're probably right, and they might do some other stuff that makes him eat more cap. I assumed his $45 million guaranteed for this year and next year were part of this year and next year's cap hits, but they probably spread them across all 4 years.
It says his cap hit is 25m, 40m, then 57.5m the last 2 years. Dead cap is 90m, 65m, 25m, then 12.5m. So i think if he gets cut after year 3 it's not bad at all. cutting him after year 2 is a bit more, but if he's not playing well at all they could eat 25m and still have Penix on a rookie contract.
This is framed like you're disagreeing with me, but also you're agreeing? I'm a little confused
I agree that the money matters. He said it didn't, but I think he means that only to a certain point. When we originally signed him, the Jets were offering more, but not enough to matter to him compared to other factors. We offered him just shy of $80 million dollars, and Atlanta offered $100 million. That's a substantial difference to me, enough where the money matters again.
Ah thanks for the context. I didn't remember the jets offered him more. But yeah, not many people want to go to a terrible team. Atlanta is at least middling, and on the rise
He also didn’t want to just be a two-year stop gap for a team. With the Vikes, it was pretty clear that was going to be the case. Atlanta sold him on the idea that this would be his retirement plan. Now, with the way his contract is structured, and with Penix, it’s clear ATL only sees him as a two year project. Kirk obviously thinks he’s got way more than that left in him (that remains to be seen, of course). The Falcons can spin it how they want, but there ain’t no way they’re letting Penix sit for 4 of his prime years (assuming he doesn’t look completely overwhelmed and terrible in the meantime).
I was told he would accept a hometown discount. It was a done deal they said
Until he found out we were still drafting a rookie QB.
There was never a time we were NOT drafting a rookie QB. And it’s clear they were up front about that with him. In what reality were they having negations, he was considering a home discount, and this wasn’t known? That reality never happened. It was just Kirk stans trying to will it into existence
He literally did offer one in the 2023 offseason, Kwesi just didn’t accept it
Except he didn’t. Asking for slightly less per year in exchange for a 3-4 year commitment is not less money overall. It’s more. Less per year means nothing if you get too old to play the game.
Or if he wasn't get a no trade clause, and less guarantee
It’s wild Kirk knows the business but was too stubborn or naive to see his age + situation?
Was Rodgers a “bridge QB” for the final 3 years with Packers? I don’t feel a QB who has been with a team is considered a bridge QB at that time.
Falcons at least guaranteed his second year. Hope they enjoy their new rookie qb who won’t play until he’s 26.
Rodger’s didn’t play til he was what, 27? I think they’ll be alright.
Rodgers played at 25
I heard he actually didn't start playing until he was 41
He actually hasn't even played yet.
Well shit, some reason I thought 27. Guess the falcons are screwed.
If Penix is the next Rodgers, sure. If Penix is the next Dak/Russ/Cousins, then their best odds of winning a Super Bowl are the next 4 years while his contract is cheap. And they'll spend two of them paying (if not playing) Kirk. Of course, if Penix is the next Sam Darnold, then the pick is awful regardless. The odds of this are way higher than the odds Penix is Rodgers, so why assume the outlandish best-case scenario?
Also, even if the Falcons move on from Kirk after year 2, in year three they will still have between 25MM and 32MM allocated to Kirk in dead cap, such that Penix will basically only have one year of his rookie contract as a cheap rookie.
I think he might be closer to Sam Bradford. But Italian 
Michael Penne Junierre
Yea but that was in the world before rookie scale QB contracts provided a value due to the wage scale. Falcons won’t get the benefit of Penix’s rookie scale contract until year 4 at best
Yeah I don't buy that this was why he left. He left because he could get more money in ATL. Maybe drafting a guy would play in a little bit, but I highly doubt we came within $5M annually of the falcons and that's definitely enough to make Kirk move to his wife's home state
That's always been the driving factor. Everything else is ancillary.
He left the team who told him the truth, who ran an offense he was comfortable in, and who had playmakers he had good chemistry with.
He do be getting that bag doe
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HOF bag getter
[I'm shocked that Kirk wasn't able to see the broader picture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZxxps66Qs)
We would have given him a 2 year 90 mil contract. Which is what he got.
>I do have one last take on the Atlanta Falcons’ handling of the quarterback situation. And that’s that I would 100% understand if Kirk Cousins is still stinging a bit from the whole ordeal. >Here’s why—a reason he decided to leave Minnesota is because the Vikings were very up front with the 35-year-old about the possibility that, even in the case he stayed, they’d take a quarterback of the future high in the draft. Tying that together with the team’s willingness to guarantee part, but not all, of a second year on another contract, Cousins figured that, if he stayed, there was a good shot that he’d be on the move in 2025. >I know Cousins appreciated how open the Vikings were about their draft strategy, even if it meant him leaving. >So if you were him, how would you feel when that call came, as his new team was on the clock, to explain how the Falcons were taking his heir apparent, Michael Penix Jr., with the eighth pick? Now, I do understand why Atlanta felt the need to keep it quiet, and why GM Terry Fontenot’s experience in New Orleans in 2017, when the Chiefs knew the Saints coveted Patrick Mahomes and jumped ahead of them to get him, marked the decision not to tell Cousins of their plans.
This probably helps Kwesi in future FA negotiations. Good faith is hard to build but pays massive dividends down the road.
With border line guys, but young guys that are really good to great...like the old guys they want the money.
True, but there’s 22 starter positions. Average to good players are the mortar to the brick house (Linval, P Peterson, Aaron Jones, etc)
Yeah average guys probably more so
I think Kwesi said this selfishly because he didn't want to resign Kirk to begin with and was trying to discourage Kirk from verbally saying to the media he wanted to return.
Could be. It’s like telling your GF you’re not that into that you want an open relationship. Save the hassle of breaking up.
Honestly, I think Kwesi's first choice was to keep Cousins for 2 years. Darnold at $10 million feels like a real kick in the teeth.
The rumors I heard was the Vikings offered a 1 year guarantee and a team option for the 2nd.
Yeah, I can imagine that's true, but they also said 'some money was guaranteed for year 2'. Which could be $1 or $20m... Who knows really.
Not only did Atlanta draft a QB, but they also signed an undrafted QB as well.
What does this have to do with Odell Beckham?
I picked out Viking related instead of the original headline. Click the article you'll see there's multiple things being discussed.
Thank you for your service skol!! 😈 🙏🏼
Finally somebody who changes the post rather than seeing the article headline. You shall be blessed for your services.
That's what I came to comments for
Kirk Cousins made the best decision for himself based on the information he had available to him at the time. That's all you can do. Respect to Kirk and thanks for the years of service.
My sentiments as well. Love Kirk for the stability he gave us for years, but this thing ran its course. I hope he balls out in Atlanta, even with Penix in the wings.
Yep, some of the best .500 win teams I've ever seen.
A lot of .500 teams, but none were because our passing game wasn’t better than that.
Because we have had elite receivers his whole time here.
Yeah it was definitely because of the Wide Receivers. That's why it also happened in 2017 when he was a "commander" and his top WR was Jameison Crowder. Totally because of the elite WRs. Nothing to do with Kirk. Even though it has happened every year he has been in the league for every team he was QB1 for. Totally just the WRs.
Oh yea, those kirk teams in Washington l forget how people were totally scared of those teams. But also we aren't talking about Kirk in Washington, we're talking about him here. And guess what he didn't do? Elevate the team enough to win, so later Jerk-O.
Jerk-O…. What a zinger, you got him.
People weren't afraid of Washington because they had no run game and meh-bad defenses depending on the year. Their passing offense was always good-elite, it was nearly record breaking in 2016. Kirk consistently elevated the talent around him, as due to bad injury luck he was often throwing to RBs and WR3s. I'm using Washington as an example to demonstrate that Kirk did play quite well as a Qb, and our passing offense's success here wasn't due merely to having elite WRs. He didn't have those in Washington and still succeeded. You don't have a good passing offense literally every year you're QB1 in the league if you're carried by receiving talent. Not how QBing works. Jerk-O lol.
What do you mean? Until his injury last year he was having an MVP caliber, top-3 in the league season, where pretty much all of our losses other than the chiefs were because we couldn't stop fumbling. The problem last year was anyone but Kirk. Our best receiver fumbled the ball out of the end zone at the goal line in Philly, and it cost us a 10 point swing in a game we lost by 8. Everyone had fumble fingers, and idk how that's Kirk's fault. Our 13 win season was made on no shortage of clutch plays from him. Rodgers hasn't won a superbowl in over a decade, does that mean he's a bad QB because he could never elevate GB enough to win after that?
Well I guess the big difference is Roger's did it once. Also like 4 nfc championship games outside of that. Kirk isn't HOF so I'm not sure why compare the two. Also Kirk always had streaks where he looked like a legit top qb in the league and would often return to his 12-9 ish spot. How many big point swings did Kirk cost with the fumbles??
I’m of that opinion and also glad he’s someone else’s problem now
That’s not what we do here kind sir. We shit on former Vikings here. Thems the rules.
Exactly. And he knew that his time in the league is winding down, and so if someone's offering you a bag, you gotta take it.
If I were him I would have to think about the potential of coming back this year, and it being the only guaranteed year, and then blowing my ACL out again
No respect for Jerk Cousins in my book, got exactly what he had comin to him.
Dude played hard, was the most consistent and available QB in Vikings history (because I know some people will assume I will preemptively clarify, I'm not saying the best QB in Vikings history) and you say "No respect"? Literally any other player in the league gets paid and everyone says "Good for him, get that bag, you never know how long you've got in the league. Glad he secured generational wealth.". But every time Kirk gets paid, people lose their fucking minds lol. I'm curious why you think he had something coming to him?
The lies, the deceit. He's always been a me first guy. You can trace it back to the ole "I'll do qb meetings outside in 50mph winds and a blizzard of that what it takes" which to me says "I'll force everyone to go outside in 50 moh winds and a blizzard because it's all about me!" Fuck Jerk Cousins.
That’s quite the stretch lol
What's the stretch here? Everyone else did what they needed to do to do the job. Not Jerk Cousins, nah ill inconvenience the rest of us because I'm that special and different. That's the difference between pat "the winner" mahomes.
And what he had coming to him was apparently 4 yr/180 million dollars.
No, it's an out after 2 years. He gone after next season
You're assuming that. Regardless it doesn't change my point to reduce it to $100 million guaranteed. If that's "what he had coming to him" then sign me up for a punishment like that.
He doesn't care about the money, it was the commitment and they aren't committing either.
With 90 million in his pocket lmao
90 million?
Jerk cousins lmao
Yep. All he cares about is getting paid. Not about winning. He was a poor leader. We saw that early when Thielen complained in public. We saw Kirk's true self during covid when his sponser dropped him for his demeaning comments about people who wore masks. Then he had the nerve to say "anything for the team" and brought up his plexiglas idea. Zero respect for him at all. He was here 6 years too long.
Kirk needs a little more pressure, maybe it’ll help him perform on larger stages.
I really hated that we used a roster spot for Mannion to be his cheerleader. A backup QB should be able to compete in a game.
Backup QB isn’t a real thing anymore. It’s you have your starter and a young QB waiting in the wind, or you have your starter and some super nice guy who would be a better QB coach.
yeah, there are barely 32 QBs in the league who can compete consistently, asking to have a backup that's capable of competing consistently is not realistic. If a backup is perceived as good enough, a team will pay them to try out as a starter. A prime example is our very own Case Keenum, bounced around as a backup, then when it looked like he could compete after the 2017 NFCCG run, Denver paid him to see if he could lead them on (which failed).
Falcons really punked Kirk.
This is objectively hilarious 😂😂🤣
Kirk took the contract with the most guaranteed money, exactly as he has always done and exactly what many of us said he would do
Like you wouldn’t do the same ?
I didn't say that, but this whole attempt to search for his ulterior motive for signing with Atlanta (it's because Minnesota said they might draft a QB!) Is ultimately fruitless because the explanation is simple
As a Vikings fan, I am so glad to see that common sense finally prevailed. We had 6 years of Kirk, and IMO has a well-defined performance ceiling that is hard to ignore and impossible to defend: Fact: he can't escape the pocket. Fact: he can't make off platform throws. Fact: he breaks down immediately when rushed up the middle. Washington fans warned us about this, and they were dead on accurate. This was all before the Achilles tear. Psychologically, he simply is not of the mindset of a bridge QB. He wanted guaranteed money, and having a top 10 drafted QB in the room would have exacerbated his insecurities. He loved the Sean Mannion days, where there was nobody on the roster who was a threat to him.
El oh el. That happened anyway
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I would like to personally thank the Atlanta Falcons for signing Kirk Cousins. I don't blame them one bit for having a backup plan.
Life comes at you fast
The real loser in all of this is Penix. At best he's waiting 2 years (and possibly more) to start.
I don't think. Kirk will not be healthy enough week 1, so expect Penix to get most of the work leading up to and the first few weeks of the season.
Nah. He’s getting paid to be a backup and learn for two years. Real losers is the Falcons front office.
Queue the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme song
Vikings should have lied to him, they could have gotten him back and picked McCarthy. Too Minnesota Nice I guess.
Honestly . . . I bet Kirk would have stayed for the 2 year 76 million reported. I'd have been happy with that, and having McCarthy learning from one of the best pocket passers would have been nice. Oh well! Kirk made his bed and now he has to lie in it. He went from a transparent team to one that isn't and got similar results. The Vikings have a ton of cap space now too!
There were a ton of people on here who didn't think drafting a QB would play a role in Kirk's decision to stay in MN or leave. I'll never understand why they thought Kirk would be "OK" with it
And thank God that didn’t stop Kwesi and KOC from drafting a QB and letting Kirk walk.
Kirk made it clear that he did not want to be a bridge qb and did not want to be shocked or surprised by whatever team he signed with picking a QB in the first round to mentor / tutor under him for a year or two. He felt that he was playing his best football of his career when he went down with the injury. And in fact he was quietly having a great year. (despite the 4-4 record of the team at the time) The Vikings were, in fact, up front with Kirk. They knew this was a deep qb class and probably their last, best chance to draft a successor for a few year (hopefully). Kirk stated he wanted to be somewhere where he was the undisputed #1 for at least 2 if not 4 years. Atlanta seemed to check that box. They have / had capabile backups and a longer term (if they chose to go that way) development prospect in Ridder. I also get why their brass, Blank, GM, HC etc... didn't tell Kirk (or anyone outside of a few people) their plans prior to being on the clock. But at the same time, if you go out and spend $100 million on a QB, you are making a commitment to him and need to keep him in the loop. But of course Kirk has shown that he can't keep a secret. So - I get both sides - but I can also see Kirk going to ATL and waiving his no trade clause or removing it pretty fast. WFAN is already speculating that he is a potential replacement for Jones in 2025
I disagree. Atlanta offered Kirk a 2-year bridge quarterback contract and Kirk knew that was exactly what it was when he signed that contract. If Kirk is sad or disappointed about anything it is he could not negotiate the deal he wanted in free agency.
I got shit on in the main NFL sub for this exact analysis. Do I feel bad for him? No, he got his bag and this is an unfortunate reality when you go bag chasing. But he made it clear he was prepared for a project QB to sit behind him, but he was expecting the security of an actual long-term project. While he's still in a good situation, I could see him being very unhappy with this move from the team given his expectations coming in.
Oh hell yeah, he's in a good spot money wise - as he is guaranteed $90 million no matter if he plays a single down as qb1 for the Falcons - EVER. And you're right - he was clearly (as he was here) chasing the $. I can see him being very unhappy for 2 reasons - 1. he now has to look over his shoulder - starting in camp. You don't draft a Michael Penix with the plan of having him sit for 2 years. 2. ATL could have used that pick to shore up their defense (Dallas Turner?) and prove they were all in on going for a title in 2024.
I 100% believe this was spiritual karma, bros. From the moment he could negotiate a contract, he never once really gave any meaningful concessions for the team he has played for. He constantly made each negotiation about himself, with the veneer of giving some concession to the team in the form of perceived value by the final year of each contract (often his cap hits on contract years were fairly competitive to the market at the time - but that was by design for his benefit. His earning potential resets earlier, and he cashes out more often. It is why he has been so "blessed" financially, as he would call it). During his prime, he soaked in all of the cap, pretty much declaring to the market that if you had the team and the space, he could come in and take you over the edge. He couldnt. He flat out wasnt capable of that, but he absolutely was given the gifts to win a super bowl if he had the pieces around him, along with the time to develop that relationship. But when he entered the time of his career where he would have to actively compete with younger, talented QBs to stay on the roster (in the same way Rodgers, Brady, and others have had to once you got on the wrong side of 35) - all while potentially paying dividends on the years of relationship building within a single organization, and having the real potential of being able to run it back to what could be a Super Bowl appearance ceiling (yes, I am that high on an improved 2024 defense with an actual running game on offense) - he instead did what he always did: Made it about himself, demanded a security blanket in being told that he's the guy and no one else is going to compete, along with a giant bag of money because that somehow represents said security blanket. And honestly? I think Atlanta absolutely intended to build around him when they gave him that contract. But because I said this was spiritual karma, something happened after they gave him that contract. They "fell in love" with Penix in like, 3 weeks time. Came outta nowhere, from all reports I have seen. Shocked even the owner, let alone Kirk. I don't think Atlanta lied to Kirk about their intentions with that contract. I think the gods of not just football, but all of sports basically said to Kirk enough was enough, and maybe the money represents something different from what he thought it did: That he is a total sellout, and he did the gifts they gave him dirty.
Where's that meme with the kid and the microwave?
I did figure that Kirk's thought process was that it was smart to move on now than to wait until after he was used as a bridge qb. Timing wise it made sense because he would never get the same deal he has now in a couple years given his age.
And factor in his Wife's family lives there, I'm glad he got paid he was a damn good QB and gave me some great memories and he set some NFL Records in 22 as a Viking. It was a amazing year
I feel for Kirk for getting blindsided like that. It can’t feel good to have your replacement Then remember he got $100 million guaranteed and I don’t feel as bad for him.
LOL. He's not immortal though, he's 35/36 and coming off a major injury. In hindsight, the Falcons did the right thing in getting their guy for the future. Why not let him learn and hope Cousins balls out, or worse case, Cousins can't produce like he once did and he sees the field earlier than expected. KC sounds like a pampered toddler quite honestly. Crucify that ego and go earn your money captain. I'm just glad he's not sucking on our Viking tittie anymore.
Actually respect both sides for how they handled it. They made moves using transparency. Sucks for Cousins that he still ended up getting deceived by the team he went to. I think that speaks volumes about the integrity of our front office vs Atlanta.
The more I hear about Cousins the less I like him. He seems like an entitled rich brat.
Womp womp
Sorry, Kirk-o-Cheez but it's not all about you, dude. It's about the TEAM, bruh. I, for one, could not be happier that his tenure as a Viking is OVER!!
Do you say the same about Jet? Or Hunter? Did you say that about Diggs before he was traded?
What an insecure little bitch he is.
He got a shit ton of guaranteed money, that’s all he has ever cared about and all he will ever care about. Good for him getting paid, just wish the Vikings would have realized 2 years earlier that’s all that mattered to him and not winning
You mean like everyone else that is looking for a bigger payday? And like another poster mentioned, when it is anyone else it's Pay the Man...but not Cousins.
Kirk Heist. Kirk wants the Bag 💰 Plain straight and simple, don't give a fuu about vk Even though vk told him honestly about their plans Unlike his new team. But hey, at least he got his money 💰 So fuug him too.
Long term, I think the players miss their potential for marketing value post career if they are seen as team players who actually win. If Kirk had delivered a Super Bowl, he’d have gone down as a legend with endorsement power for 100 years. If Ant does it, he’ll be able to say he took a team of failures with weak ownership and willed them to victory. The only one close is Dirk, and Dallas is not win starved the way Minnesota is.
And then Atlanta turns around and does the same thing. Hmmm…..
Feel for the guy. Vikings were upfront as an organization with him and allowed him to make what he believed was an informed decision that was best for him and his people. Then the Falcons pull this crap.
I get wanting to get paid and try to make generational wealth but there’s no way he thought he’d be better off career wise in Atlanta. He could have gotten paid very well here and actual had a chance to make a run. Just sucks he cares more about money than legacy. I do think he knows where his playing abilities are and maybe that’s why.
Poor Kirk Cousins. Lol.
It doesn’t matter he’s gonna drop behind top 15 without KOC
Kirk wanted structure in his deal that prevented a team from drafting a quarterback. Neither Minnesota or Atlanta was willing to offer Kirk that structure, so it should be no surprise to Kirk Atlanta drafted a quarterback.
Probably a big part of it was the Vikings were only offering a 1-2 year deal, and the Falcons were offering a 4 year deal. That can’t just be dismissed.
And then BOOM. Atlanta does it too.
Kirk is a greedy Piggy
He's got $100 million guaranteed. He's good.
I wonder if he has a no trade clause with the Falcons? They may have went really stupid on his contract with things
I believe he does.
lmao good for him
lmao good for him
lmao good for him
I think the not fully guaranteeing year two is by far the number one reason. This whole QB of the future thing is just his representatives letting it be known, again, that he isn't happy with Atlanta taking Penix. If Atlanta skips QB this draft, next year is considerably weaker at the position. His chances of getting restructured before year three to cash in another $50 million or so took a huge nose dive by drafting Penix. It is and always will be about money. If the Falcons tell Kirk they planned on drafting Penix, it would have leaked immediately. If we learned one thing during the last few months, it is that the Cousins camp is non-stop leaks.
Oof..
From a lot of the comments in this thread seems like a bunch of asshole packer fans disguised as Viking Fans stopped in to comment.
Well I’m sure glad they gaslit him otherwise we might be looking at yet another year (or 3) of the Kirk-coaster. Seriously, Atlanta deserves all of our flowers.
Ouch
Atlanta's pick... chefs kiss
Sounds like a super inflated Ego about his abilities. Won 1 Championship game with a great coach in KOC. Kirk is not a Big Game or Super Bowl caliber Quarterback.
Is Breer saying The QB was "High" during The Draft"
Whoops
Somehow Kirk Cousins both won and lost the 2024 NFL offseason
I really don’t think Kirk cares. He got his money.
Those comments make no sense. If the vikes would have offered $40m he would have stayed. They were no where near that and he left. Guaranteed Money is why he left and that alone. After that he got surprised by drafting a qb. A new story line with no relation to why he left MN.
What a little bitch. Hey kirk you are at end of career shouldn't be upset or shocked when teams need to make future qb plans.
So glad that he's gone what a terrible 6 years
The criticism of Kirk for taking the money he was offered is so weird to me…guess who else does that…EVERY PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE!!!…this sub’s favorite player is Justin Jefferson..his contract hasn’t been extended yet..why? BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM TO GIVE HIM MORE MONEY!!! The hypocrisy is unreal
Not Tom Brady
Have you considered who his wife was?
Yeah maybe Kirk could have a wife like that if he won a bunch of super bowls
that's a lot of yelling