The Atlanta Falcons are thrilled to have Kirk Cousins as their new quarterback and vice versa, but was their recruitment of Cousins within the NFL guidelines? The league is investigating after comments Cousins made during his introductory press conference with the Falcons, at which the quarterback acknowledged he spoke to the team's head trainer before the new league year officially began.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank doesn’t seem too worried about the matter and appeared as such during the owner's meetings on Monday.
“The tampering deal, we obviously don't believe we tampered, and we shared all the information with the league,” Blank said, per Michael Rothstein. “And they'll review the process and the facts and they are in the middle of doing that, and whatever the result is, we'll deal with it.”
The Falcons could lose draft picks and some personnel might be suspended if the NFL finds some wrongdoing. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is also confident that the team will be off the hook.
“I’m really not allowed to discuss it, but I have a lot of confidence in our people that we did the right thing,” Morris said, via Josh Kendall.
It is a strong stance for the Falcons to take, but one they almost have to, especially if they truly are not at fault. Who knows how Kirk Cousins feels about all this too as he might have been the one who said a little too much.
Falcons building confidence with Cousins in the fold
There are $180 million reasons why the Falcons chose Kirk Cousins as their next starting QB. If for nothing else, it was to find some sort of stability at the position, something Atlanta did not have over the last two seasons.
After Matt Ryan started at least 14 games in 14 consecutive seasons, the Falcons started three different QBs in 2022 and 2023. By signing Cousins, Atlanta knows who it has under center every game for the next four years, barring injury.
The Falcons have talent on offense and believe Cousins is the key that could unlock it all for Atlanta's young skill players. Blank spoke highly of the 35-year-old.
“Obviously our football folks felt strongly. Our fans I definitely think would concur with that,” Blank said Monday. “He's a very high-quality quarterback, he's performed at a high level for 12 years in the league and feel pretty fortunate having him as a quarterback and look forward to seeing the results with him.
“He has all the intangibles, not just the tangibles, but the intangibles. … He's in house, ready to go to work, he is working and see how it unfolds.”
Atlanta's backup plan
As for who will back up Cousins, Raheem Morris said that Taylor Heinicke will compete for the job with a third QB who the Falcons have yet to bring in but intend to do so, per Tori McElhaney.
Heinicke started four games for Atlanta in 2023 and has 29 starts in his NFL career. The Falcons traded 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder after he started 13 games for them last season. He finished with an 83.4 passer rating. Atlanta traded him to the Arizona Cardinals for wide receiver Rondale Moore.
Morris said that Ridder did not ask to be traded. “I’m excited for him to get a fresh start,” Morris said, per D. Orlando Ledbetter.
The Falcons had a carousel of sorts at the quarterback position for the last two seasons. They think bringing in Kirk Cousins will change that, but they are banking on him fully recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. There is risk in that, one that Atlanta is willing to take.
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