Falcons’ Kirk Cousins Ready To Lead Charge For Resurgent Falcons

At his introductory press conference Wednesday evening, new Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins said that he was looking for a team on the rise in free agency. He believes that he’s found one. Despite the Falcons’ turbulent 2023 season, improvement at the quarterback position could transform the team from an also-ran into a legitimate contender in the NFC.

“I think in Minnesota it was trending over the last couple offseasons to being somewhat year-to-year,” Cousins said at the press conference. “And as we talked with Atlanta, it felt like this was a place where, if I play at the level I expect to play, that I can retire a Falcon.”

In recent years, the Falcons have developed a reputation for underutilizing young talent. The team drafted running back Bijan Robinson with the eighth overall pick last summer, only to place him in a suffocating timeshare with backup Tyler Allgeier. Star tight end Kyle Pitts had a breakout rookie season in 2021 but has since floundered on a stagnant offense. Wide receiver Drake London has struggled alongside him in the last two seasons.

With all this talent squandered thus far, many have split the blame between two parties: former head coach Arthur Smith and a revolving door of quarterbacks that most recently included Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinecke.

Smith was repeatedly accused of using Robinson and Pitts as decoys instead of assets. This led to increased production from the likes of Allgeier and veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, but it simply did not prove effective. Smith went 7-10 in all three of his seasons for Atlanta and was fired earlier this year.

The Falcons’ quarterback issue is more difficult to break down but largely came down to a lack of consistent play. Ridder, the team’s starter since the end of 2022, has been effective on the ground but has not produced enough through the air, ending the 2023 season with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Heinecke, his backup, proved capable for the Commanders in 2022 but did not make a significant impact in his limited playing time in Atlanta.

After three straight seven-win seasons, the Falcons’ front office took dramatic steps to fix both problems in the span of a few weeks. Cousins is a pre-built franchise quarterback on a new four-year, $180 million deal and Raheem Morris has been hired to replace Smith as head coach.

Both men have success elsewhere. Morris has been a coach in the NFL for the better part of two decades and has won two Super Bowls, one as an assistant on the 2002 Buccaneers and another as the Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2021. Morris has also worked for the Falcons previously, rising through the ranks from 2015 to 2020 and briefly serving as interim head coach.

“When I see what he’s done and what he’s been around and the people he’s led and the people who have worked with these people speaking so highly of them, I mean, the evidence was just mounting to show that this is some serious alignment here,” Cousins said of his new head coach.

Cousins may not match Morris in championship success, having none himself, but the quarterback has succeeded in turning two separate teams into playoff contenders in his career. Both Washington and Minnesota improved dramatically with him under center, and in eight seasons as a full-time starter, he has had just two losing seasons and four trips to the postseason.

With Morris and Cousins joining forces on a team that already includes the likes of Robinson, Pitts and London, the Falcons suddenly seem like a machine in the vulnerable NFC South division. In one of the most chaotic free agency periods in NFL history, Atlanta has emerged as a team to watch.