The biggest question when Kirk Cousins made the move to join the Atlanta Falcons was not his fit, age, or his style of play. Rather, it was about him retaining his iconic number 8 jersey from the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins. Kyle Pitts was the one who snagged the number first. The young weapon was willing to give it to their NFL Free Agency signing. However, there was one Roger Goodell-sized roadblock in the way of making that happen.
At first, it sounded like Kyle Pitts was not getting a lot of targets because Kirk Cousins had to settle for 18. But, the young weapon did agree to swap jersey numbers, via The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“So he wanted to switch numbers anyways so it was like a perfect fit. He's like ‘I want to switch numbers. You want number 8. This is perfect.' I was like great,” Kirk Cousins said.
However, the new Falcons' signal caller finally unveiled why he and his receiver could not finalize the change. The issue was not about tampering by Arthur Blank. Instead, it was because of the amount of Kyle Pitts Falcons uniforms that were in circulation.
“They're like well, ‘Kyle Pitts has a lot of jerseys that are number 8 with Pitts on the back. You would have to buy every single one.' Both of us would have to just write the check. And I was like, ‘Well what is it?' It was a big number. I was like I don't want to write that check I'm good. It was several hundred thousand. So I was like I'm good with 18, and Kyle's like I'm good with 8. So, we're going with 8 and 18,” the NFL veteran declared.
The number must have been huge because the Falcons quarterback was already willing to write a check during his introductory conference. Not to mention, he just inked a four-year deal with $180 million which one would think could be enough to cover those expenses.
Cousins' fit with the Falcons
The number behind his jersey is not where Cousins' powers come from. His veteran acumen and ability to lead a young squad like he did with the Vikings already speak for himself. The numbers he puts up are also still good. During his last campaign with the Vikings, he put up 2,331 passing yards with a 103.8 rating. Not to mention, his ability to march down the end zone with his weapons is elite because he ended the year with 18 touchdowns despite suffering injuries.
The only big drawback in his style of play has been the amount of picks he has thrown. Last year, Cousins threw five of them in just eight games of action. This may be attributed to his decision-making against rough NFL defenses. However, this weakness can be improved on with a better set of receivers in front of him. The Falcons have exactly what he needs. In their coming campaign, Cousins will get to utilize Pitts, Bijan Robinson, Darnell Mooney, and Rondale Moore.
There is a lot to be excited about for Cousins' tenure with the Falcons. Hopefully, it buries the fact that he will not don the classic number eight.
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