The temptation is great to say the Falcons overpaid for Kirk Cousins — full disclosure: I spoke those very words on esteemed AJC colleague D. Orlando Ledbetter’s podcast — but is it overpaying when your purchase is an essential commodity? This wasn’t discretional spending. This was a desperate team doing what it had to do.
The 2023 Falcons were a team without a quarterback of NFL quality. The 2024 Falcons will have a quarterback of NFL quality. For what this organization had become, youth was no longer an option. They’d tried Desmond Ridder. Going from Ridder to Justin Fields or a drafted rookie would have spawned the same issue: “Can we wait for a quarterback to develop as the clock ticks on the rest of our roster?”
Arthur Blank was 59 when he bought the Falcons. Over his first 16 seasons, his team went 139-116-1 and qualified for postseason eight times. Over the past six seasons, his Falcons are 39-60. Only two of the NFC’s 16 teams have missed the playoffs six years running, the other being Carolina.
Blank is 81. He’s younger than Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, though not by much. Difference is, Kraft has been handed the Lombardi Trophy six times, Jones three times. Blank remains stuck on zero. His team’s one Super Bowl run stands as the greatest excruciation in the history of sports. (Indeed, Kraft has a ring bearing the inscription “28-3.”)
The Falcons spent the past three drafts assembling the supporting cast a quarterback needs, but what’s a supporting cast without a leading man? The same Falcons have freed themselves from cap constraints — only one member of last year’s team is listed among ESPN’s top 100 free agents, and that’s Calais Campbell, who’s 37 — which means they have roster stability. But what’s stability if it means going 7-10 yet again?
The Falcons had gone as far as they could’ve without a real quarterback, and teams without a real quarterback tend not to go far. There could well come a day when they regret spending $100 million in guaranteed money for a QB who has been in the NFL since 2012 and presided over one playoff win. They’d have regretted it more had Cousins re-upped with Minnesota.
Am I certain that Cousins can win a Super Bowl? No. Am I certain he’ll age well? No. (He turns 36 in August.) The much-missed website Football Outsiders noted that non-elite quarterbacks tend to go bad in a hurry, and doggone if we didn’t just see it for ourselves. Matt Ryan, the MVP at 31, played his last NFL game at 37 — and that was without tearing his Achilles tendon, which Cousins did 4½ months ago.
Do I assume the Falcons did due diligence on Cousins’ rehab? Yes. Do I applaud them for landing the quarterback who most fits their needs? Yes again. All my quibbles — I’m guessing my quibbles aren’t much different from yours — can be batted away with six words: They … had … to … have … a …. quarterback.
Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal described Cousins thusly: “He’s 35 years old, recovering from a devastating injury and has never been considered one of the best players at his position.” That’s all true, but, as Beaton also noted, it’s beside the point. You’re worth what someone is willing to pay. Blank might have paid $1 billion — NFL auditors would have thrown a penalty flag, but still — for a second shot at a ring.
NFL teams fall into two categories: those with a real quarterback and those without. The Falcons are no longer the latter. They’ve got a shot now.
The above is part of a regular exercise available to all who register on AJC.com for our free Sports Daily newsletter. The full Buzz, which includes extras like a weekly poll and pithy quotes, arrives via email around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Go to the AJC.com home page. Click on “Choose from a variety of newsletters” at the top. Click on “Sports Daily.” You’ll need to enter your email address. Thanks, folks.
About the Author
