Kirk Cousins insists he's not dealing with injury setback after horrid Falcons debut

Kirk Cousins is in the back half of his career. It's slowly coming to a close. As unfortunate as that is to say, it's true. But, given the way he's played the last few years, it's hard to picture him retiring due to performance any time soon.

Cousins has been one of the top quarterbacks recently, spanning his entire time as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. But last year, Cousins would see the end of his career flash right before his very eyes when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon part way through the season.

With the state of medicine in today's world, this wasn't seen as career-threatening. The Atlanta Falcons agreed with that because they swiftly signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency. Cousins would be paid $45 million a year for four seasons with $100 million being guaranteed money.

Atlanta made this decision before he was even close to medically cleared to perform.

Kirk Cousins downplays injury concerns in Week 1 loss to Steelers

And when Cousins was finally medically cleared, taking the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, something seemed off.

Cousins didn't have his deep ball. He had high school level velocity on his throws. It was like he was practically throwing all upper body. One throw, in particular, drew the biggest cause for concern. It appears as though Cousins plants to fire, but his back leg, the previously injured one, isn't fully under him. When he rotates at his hips, the back leg looks dead, like he generated no power from it.

Here's the throw:

But Cousins quickly denied any rumors that he wasn't feeling good when asked about it by the media.

“I feel good,” Cousins said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s official website. “The Achilles feels good. I feel like I can move and push how I need to.”

Cousins was also insistent that he needs to get into the mode of live action more than the feeling like trusting the Achilles itself. This very well could be a case of just not fully trusting it yet. That would explain the ability to make a great throw like he did on his touchdown pass, but also not be able to plant when in a clean pocket.

His Achillies looks fine in this video:

Whether it's a true injury concern or just a lack of trust in the part of the body that once failed him, the Falcons will need Cousins to get it worked out quickly.