Kirk Cousins and 3 former Vikings failing miserably elsewhere and why

Kirk Cousins is no longer the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings and the organization has to feel quite vindicated by that — especially because he's no longer the starting quarterback for his new team, the Atlanta Falcons. Despite being paid a lucrative free agent contract this offseason, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced the decision to turn to rookie Michael Penix Jr. on Tuesday.

The Vikings look quite genius for the decision to part ways with their longtime signal-caller, Cousins, this offseason. That case is only further strengthened by the fact that Sam Darnold was brought into the fold by Minnesota on an egregiously cheaper short-term deal and has the Vikes at a crisp 12-2 on the season and looking like a potential contender. Cousins, meanwhile, dragged the Falcons down to fighting for a postseason spot in the much weaker NFC South.

However, Cousins isn't alone in the great decisions by the Vikings this offseason. While Danielle Hunter left Minnesota and has remained a star with Houston — though his replacement, Jonathan Greenard, has been a beast for the Vikings as well — there are several other former players who left the Twin Cities and have fallen flat on their faces just like Cousins.

4. Vikings were proven right moving on from Kirk Cousins

Obviously, though, this entire conversation starts with Cousins. Minnesota, who brought the veteran into the fold on a fully guaranteed contract in 2018, saw the writing on the wall with the signal-caller at the perfect time. Granted, Cousins' Achilles injury that ended his final season with the Vikings aided that decision but, on top of that, he also only led the franchise to two playoff berths from 2018-23.

Adding the injury recovery and factoring in his age plus his contract demands made it a relatively easy call for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Co. to pull the plug and turn the page at quarterback. But even then, it would've been hard to believe that they could've foreseen just how bad Cousins would be with the Falcons.

The benching says it all, but the numbers hammer the point home. Cousins threw for a league-leading 16 interceptions and only 18 touchdowns over his 14 games with the Falcons. Even with the more than 3,500 yards, that felt like more of the empty calories that frustrated Vikings fans for so long. What made it worse is that he also failed the eye test, looking like he lost his fastball and even the modicum of mobility he had remaining.

It was the perfectly timed call by the Vikings that set Minnesota up for a much brighter and higher-upside future.

3. Marcus Davenport has been a dud in Detroit

Going to the other side of the ball, moving on from Hunter on the edge of the defense signified a changing of the guard up front in Minnesota. Because not only did the organization let Hunter walk but they chose to do the same with former Saints first-round pick Marcus Davenport as well.

Davenport eventually landed elsewhere in the NFC North, signing with the Detroit Lions. But while the Aidan Hutchinson injury was the main talking point early in the season for the Lions defensive line, they lost Davenport for the year to an elbow injury before that. This isn't to pile on a player who's hurt and unable to play. However, that's certainly a disappointment in Detroit, a team that's direly needed ancillary pass rushers all year.

What's more and why it feels comfortable to put Davenport in this conversation is that he frankly wasn't all that good in the two games he played for the Lions. His PFF ($) grades would have him 161st out of 202 edge defenders this season. All told, though, he was just about the same throughout his one-year tenure with the Vikings, so reshaping the defensive front again looks like a stroke of genius for the Minnesota front office.

2. Minnesota special teams definitely don't miss Greg Joseph

Kicker clearly hasn't been the epitome of smooth sailing for the Vikings this season but that has very little to do with quality. Rookie Will Reichard has been rock-steady for the special teams unit and, when the rookie out of Alabama went to IR for part of the year, John Parker Romo stepped in and was also solid in that department for Minnesota.

All this is to say, the Vikings certainly haven't missed Greg Joseph even a little bit this season. Minnesota moved on this offseason from Joseph after he spent three years with the organization and has already played with two teams, the Giants and Commanders. Any time you see a kicker having stints with multiple teams in the same season, that's usually a good indication that things aren't exactly looking great for his performance.

Over seven total games this season, Joseph is just 15-of-19 on field-goal attempts (78.1%). That's hardly the reliability you're looking for, especially when it comes to a kicker who hasn't shown the biggest leg in the world over the past couple of years. While he has been a perfect 8-of-8 on extra point attempts, the Vikings still have to feel comfortable in the decision to move on, especially with how good Reichard has performed.

1. K.J. Osborn is a complete non-factor away from the Vikings

K.J. Osborn is undoubtedly the most surprising player to find his way onto this list. A fifth-round pick by Minnesota in the 2020 draft, the wide receiver carved out a nice role in the Vikings offense over his last three seasons with the team. He had over 500 yards receiver and at least 48 catches in each of those three campaigns. While those weren't close to WR1 numbers, when he signed with the New England Patriots this offseason, it seemed like a perfect spot for him to be a steady weapon in the offense.

He was anything but that, however. Osborn appeared in seven games for the Patriots and may have well not even been on the field. He was targeted just 18 times over that span, catching seven of them for a measly 57 yards and a touchdown. It was so bad and he was so nearly nonexistent with New England that they eventually released him late in the season.

Now that he's landed elsewhere, being picked up by the Washington Commanders though yet to make his debut for his new team, there is hope that he can get things back on track in an offense that's far more functional than the Patriots' was early in the year. At the same time, though, anyone who watched Osborn in Minnesota had to be shocked by the way this season has transpired for the still-young pass-catcher.