The Kirk Cousins-to-Falcons buzz doesn’t appear to be just smoke.
The soon-to-be free-agent quarterback “is seriously considering moving his family to Atlanta,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Monday night, citing “very credible indications.”
Cousins, who spent the past six seasons in Minnesota, is said to have always viewed the Falcons as “the top alternative to the Vikings.”
Further, as Pro Football Talk notes, the 35-year-old has familiar ties to the Atlanta area as his wife, Julie, grew up in Alpharetta, Ga., and his in-laws still reside there.
Though Florio didn’t delve further, stating Pro Football Talk “can’t get into the specifics, for now” regarding Cousins’ future, he called out those “who try to dismiss our reports” about an hour after the story went live.
“To the folks who try to dismiss our reports by saying we have no sources or whatever, you realize we had like 50 guests on our show last week from Indy, right? You realize pretty much everyone in the league reads PFT, right? You realize I’ve been doing this 23 years, right???” a message on X read, although it’s unclear if it was tied to the Cousins report.
Despite the building momentum around the Falcons, the Vikings made it clear they’d welcome Cousins back, with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stating he believes the team “can win the ultimate prize” with the 35-year-old under center.
“We have our interests, he has his, get to the table and see if we can figure out a creative solution of how to meet in the middle,” Adofo-Mensah said. “What we do know is we have a really good quarterback, great leader and somebody we think we can win the ultimate prize with.”
Should Cousins potentially move on from the Vikings and land with the Falcons, the free agency dominoes would continue to fall from there as current Bears quarterback Justin Fields has also been linked to Atlanta.
The Bears could look to trade Fields if they decide to draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Falcons, now under head coach Raheem Morris, are looking to improve the quarterback position following the lackluster carousel of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke in 2023.
Cousins is coming off of an Achilles injury he sustained in October 2023 that sidelined him for much of the season.
A year prior, the four-time Pro Bowler led the Vikings to a regular season record of 13-4 and a playoff appearance.
The legal tampering period for free agents begins Monday, March 11 at noon.
