The story of the 2024 NFL Draft had to do with the Atlanta Falcons using their high first-round pick on a quarterback right after giving a quarterback the richest deal in free agency. Atlanta awarded former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract, then doubled down at the position by taking Washington's Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall. This was a decision that reportedly disappointed Cousins.
During a recent interview on The Athletic's "Scoop City," Cousins said the Falcons' choice to draft Penix after signing him reminded him of the 2012 NFL Draft, where Washington drafted Robert Griffin III at No. 2 overall, then circled back and selected Cousins in the fourth round. But perhaps the main takeaway from this interview was Cousins debunking a report that seemingly lent insight into his offseason decision.
SI.com reported in May the Vikings were up front with Cousins about the possibility of selecting a quarterback high in the draft -- even if he decided to remain in Minnesota. This week, Cousins said the opposite was actually true. Head coach Kevin O'Connell told him that the Vikings weren't planning on drafting a quarterback if he re-signed with the team.
"I don't think they were ready to go there yet in March," Cousins said. "I think the reality is just that they wanted to give themselves that flexibility. And I remember Kevin's words, which I'm not going to hold them to, were, 'Hey, if we sign you back, I would think it's very unlikely that we would draft somebody.' It was something to that effect. But I also know in the league things change."
Even if this is true, there were other factors that led Cousins to leave Minnesota. The Vikings had Cousins on a one-year deal in 2023, and wanted another one-year deal for 2024.
"It just felt it had been, and was going to be, basically one year, one year, one year," Cousins said. "And I felt, 'Yeah, maybe I do play in Minnesota for another five or six years, but it's going to be on one-year contracts.' That's the plan they've chosen that they wanted to walk."
Cousins got the multi-year contract he was after, but his new team made it clear they were already thinking about life after him before he even took a snap in his new uniform.