NFL Rumors: How Kirk Cousins screwed over the Detroit Lions 1 last time

Kirk Cousins signed a huge contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, the first day of the legal tampering period of NFL Free Agency. Cousins contract will pay him $180 million over four years, with the vast majority of that coming in the form of guaranteed money.

Cousins is set to turn 36 years old before the start of next season, and is coming off a season-ending knee injury. It's a rarity for any player to receive a deal of that magnitude at this point in their football life, but Cousins was the best quarterback available in a weak free-agent class. The Falcons are perennially a QB away, so it made some sense.

As the Vikings look to rebuild around Sam Darnold and perhaps a top prospect in the NFL Draft, their NFC North rival is left scrambling. The Detroit Lions, which would prefer to extend their own franchise quarterback this offseason, might as well hand him a blank check.

NFL Rumors: Lions potential Jared Goff extension just got more expensive

The longer the Detroit Lions wait to extend Jared Goff, the more it'll cost them, which is why setting a target date of this offseason makes the most sense. Goff made over $22 million last season, but he's entering the final year of his deal. Any new deal would likely pay Goff close to $50 million per year on a multiyear deal, as Yahoo's Charles Robinson pointed out:

"Cousins’ deal with the Falcons is going to weigh on the Goff extension talks. Not only is Goff younger (29), he has achieved considerably more in the postseason than Cousins. And what once looked like it could be a $50 million per year price tag for the Lions quarterback is now essentially assured of it," Robinson wrote.

Goff's asking price should go up given the money Cousins just received, though they were always well-positioned in negotiations with the Lions given the team's unprecedented level of success with him at the helm.