NFL Rumors: Falcons' Kirk Cousins Left Vikings in Part Because of Desire to Draft QB

It sounds like veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was not expecting the Atlanta Falcons to draft a quarterback with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, which wound up being used on former Washington signal-caller Michael Penix Jr.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, a reason Cousins decided to leave the Minnesota Vikings was "because the Vikings were very upfront with the 35-year-old about the possibility that, even in the case he stayed, they'd take a quarterback of the future high in the draft." His new team wound up doing the exact same thing.

Breer added that Minnesota's declaration to Cousins along with the team's "willingness to guarantee part, but not all, of a second year on another contract" caused Cousins to determine that "if he stayed, there was a good shot that he'd be on the move in 2025."

The Falcons' selection of Penix was the most surprising decision of the first round. Many believed that Penix could have been available later in the draft, and Atlanta filled its need for a quarterback when it signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.

The Falcons explained their decision to draft Penix by pointing to their previous blunder of not having a succession plan in place when former NFL MVP Matt Ryan was traded away in the 2022 offseason.

"We were always looking aggressively for the heir apparent, the down-the-road, the solution at that position [after Ryan]," Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith said last week. "... It's the most important position in all sports, and it's the most expensive position in all sports. ... We went from a time of uncertainty in January at that position to we feel really good for, like I said, minimum five years."

Cousins reportedly was informed of the team's decision to draft Penix when Atlanta was on the clock with the No. 8 pick. Penix said he spoke with Cousins after he was selected and the two of them had "a very good conversation."

While Cousins' tenure with the Falcons is off to a rocky start, he still gives the team a shot at competing for its first playoff spot since 2017.