Kirk Cousins explains why he left Vikings, and it's hard to blame him

Surely, more than just one thing went into Kirk Cousins' decision to join the Atlanta Falcons in his high-profile NFL free agency after six stellar seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He may have wanted a new start, more money or an opportunity to play for his adopted hometown's franchise. It all kept coming out Atlanta for him and his family this offseason, but a new wrinkle as to why is peculiar.

Cousins appeared on Scoop City and explained to former Missouri and NFL veteran journeyman quarterback Chase Daniel of The Athletic why he left the Vikings. Apparently, the Vikings were only interested in giving him one-year deals the rest of the way. Head coach Kevin O'Connell gave Cousins assurances that if he would sign a one-year deal Minnesota would not draft another quarterback.

While O'Connell preached team flexibility, Cousins prioritized one final long-term commitment more.

"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 him to them, 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."

He doesn't blame O'Connell for the situation, but understand that things can change in an instant.

"But I also know in the league things change. So even if he says that, it's not like I'm going to, you know, hold him to that. But his approach was 'I just don't see us doing that if you're back. You know, if you're not back, then we have to.'"

Cousins went on to sign a four-year deal with the Falcons. Shortly thereafter, Atlanta used its No. 8 overall pick on former Washington star Michael Penix Jr. Two picks later, the Vikings moved up a spot to take former Michigan star J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall. Cousins may not have loved the idea of seeing his replacement be drafted, but he does seem to remember a situation earlier in his career.

Here is the clip in which Cousins confided in Daniel about the Vikings' plans for one-year contracts.

Truth be told, it was a slap in the face for the Vikings to consider the one-year option with Cousins.

Kirk Cousins was not about to sign a series of one-year contracts to stay

As I said before, this situation at hand in Atlanta kind of reminded me of what Cousins went through as a rookie in Washington. He was drafted in the fourth round out of Michigan State days after Washington used the No. 2 overall pick on 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin II out of Baylor. Cousins certainly recognized the similarities of him coming over then Atlanta drafting Penix later on.

Even though it has been painfully obvious the entire time, I appreciate Cousins' awareness in all this.

"It reminded me of 2012 when I was drafted because I was a fourth-round pick. I was a nobody. I was pick 102. When the draft was over, one of the main storylines of the 2012 draft was that Washington took a quarterback after taking a quarterback."

I may be reading between the lines, but I don't think he wants Penix to go through what he went did.

"It was interesting to be that as a fourth-round pick to kind of show up at rookie minicamp and the narrative was kind of 'Why are you here?' or 'How do you feel about being here?' And so it was a similar dynamic now where it was again drafting a quarterback in a way that surprised people."

Here is Dianna Russini of The Athletic asking Cousins about being in this strange situation yet again.

I may be biased because this is my favorite NFL team, but I get a strong feeling that with Cousins being in his mid-30s and coming off a career-threatening Achilles injury, he senses his own football mortality. He seems to have a better grip of the situation than most men would if they were in his own shoes. In a way, I kind of feel that his familiarity with this strange situation is why Atlanta drafed Penix.

Atlanta was willing to give Cousins the multi-year contract he coveted, but firmly understood the price you pay as a franchise if you don't have a succession plan for a mid-30-something quarterback. Why do you think the previous two years of Falcons football was so incredibly mid? Atlanta did not have a serious succession plan in the wake of Matt Ryan's fading career. It is why they drafted Penix.

The real bombshell in all this is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah only wanted to give Cousins one-year contracts.