Unlike Vikings fans, Kirk Cousins former teammates gave him plenty of love

Even if the last month and change has not been kind to Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons, he is still a likable guy and very easy to root for. Cousins may be on the wrong side of 35 and playing on one-and-a-half good Achilles tendons but he is everything this league is about. Taken in the fourth round by Washington back in 2012 in the same year as Robert Griffin III, look at who is still in the NFL.

Cousins made his return to Minneapolis last weekend when the Falcons took on the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was close for a while, but a slew of turnovers put the game out of reach for the Dirty Birds. While Cousins was met with mixed reviews upon coming back to his previous employer's team of the last six years, his former Minnesota Vikings teammates and coaches were so happy to see him.

What I think gets lost in all of this is how beloved Cousins is and has been by his former teammates. He has not always been in the best of situations, but has gone from a two-star recruit out of Michigan State to being a perennial Pro Bowler and a Hall of Very Good candidate with a decade-plus pro career. Every step of the way, Cousins has gotten paid, doing a ton for non-first-round quarterbacks.

Here he is being embraced by his former teammates in the aftermath of Week 14's NFC ballgame.

You can criticize his declining play, but you cannot argue that Cousins is one of the NFL's good guys.

Kirk Cousins is still beloved by his former Minnesota Vikings teammates

Besides the fact he is my peer and married a woman who I went to the University of Georgia with, one of the reasons people cannot quit the guy is how likable he is. Cousins may be a dorky dude pushing 40, but he has always been one of the guys. He finds a way to relate to everyone. Cousins does not operate from a place of thinking he is better than anyone. He always strives to find common ground.

While his career has been one worth celebrating, as he has done great things in Washington, Minnesota and for a minute there, in Atlanta, Cousins is living, breathing proof that being upbeat and being positive goes a long way in a gladiator sport defined by regulated violence. Prior to his Achilles injury, Cousins never got hurt. He may have thrown interceptions, but he also won a ton of games.

What you can see here is that even though the business of it all ended Cousins' time in Minneapolis probably a bit before he wanted it to, it is about the people you meet along the way. The difference between winning and losing at a game's highest level is razor thin. Being a good person does a lot to help keep the good vibes high in victory, as well as the determination to get back to work in defeat.

Win or lose, Cousins has shown enough in his playing career that he is every bit a foxhole kind of guy.