Giant QB domino falls as Kirk Cousins leaves Vikings for Falcons

Kirk Cousins leaves one former Rams coach for another by going to the Falcons

Former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell was chosen for the Vikings job in part because he was committed to helping Kirk Cousins be a better quarterback. On Monday, Cousins is no longer his quarterback and instead he’s going to a different former Rams coach: The Atlanta Falcons are signing Kirk Cousins to be their next QB, according to his agent.

Cousins played for Sean McVay and with Raheem Morris and Kevin O’Connell when they were all in Washington. Cousins signed with the Vikings in 2018 free agency and spent six seasons there but was unable to win any big playoff games during his time in Minnesota. The Vikings hired O’Connell as head coach in 2022 and he helped them go 13-4 that year with Cousins having his best football of his career. Then Cousins tore his Achilles in 2023 and missed half of the season, leading to a missed playoffs season for O’Connell’s Vikings.

Unwilling to meet his contract demands and needing to pay Justin Jefferson, Minnesota has now lost the quarterback to a conference rival.

Raheem Morris was hired to be the Falcons head coach and he took Zac Robinson with him from L.A. to Atlanta, but there was no quarterback in place. Now there is. Cousins will have Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson at his disposal in a division that is ripe for Morris to take. Will he and Cousins have the most success in the NFC South? We will soon find out.