Regardless of how successful his teams have been on the field, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. That continued in 2024 when Cousins agreed to be filmed during his first season with the Atlanta Falcons for the latest installment of Netflix's "Quarterback" docu-series.
In addition to showcasing some behind-the-scenes action on the field, "Quarterback" also gives a glimpse of what Cousins does off the field. As we know, his first year with the Falcons didn't go well, and NBC Sports' Chris Simms recently shared his thoughts on some of the things that might have helped produce that outcome.
"I don't think ['Quarterback' has] looked great on Kirk Cousins. I don't think it's looked great on him. By the way of how he maybe handles himself sometimes. [He's got] too much stuff going on during football season.
I just know living with my dad or myself or being friends with other great quarterbacks in
football, they're not coaching their son's 7-on-7 flag football teams during the season,
right?
They're not worried about doing bits somewhere with their families so the camera crew
can be there, right?
Game day, his brothers and friends come out in costumes on the field in pregame. I don't even know what they were. They were being silly gym guys and to me, that wouldn't go down in certain organizations."
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins criticized for too much off field focus in first year with Atlanta Falcons
Simms, who is a former NFL quarterback and the son of legendary New York Giants signal-caller Phil Simms, went on to talk about how some of the stuff Cousins does off the field during a season isn't what anyone would see from some of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league.
"I don't think [my dad] would have been the quarterback of the Giants if his brothers were coming out in the field pregame, dressed in silly costumes and Bill Parcells would be like, 'Yeah, Phil, go over there and ham it up with them.' Like that would never go down.
You think Brady or Belichick, that would go down? You think Peyton Manning would do that? Absolutely not. Would Patrick Mahomes do it? No. Would Josh Allen do it?
So, that's where I don't love that. Maybe I'm looking too deep into it, but those are the little psychological things I look at as far as 'Quarterback' and quarterbacks that can lead you to a Super Bowl."
Is this a fair criticism of Cousins? An argument can be made that the former Minnesota quarterback might spend too much time prioritizing activities with his family over giving his all to a team that is paying him over $100 million.
At the same time, no player should really ever be ridiculed for wanting to spend time with their family. Especially with Cousins, who has two young sons, and it's clear that he wants to be involved in their growth as human beings.
If anyone has ever read anything I've written about Cousins in the past, I've made it known plenty of times that I'm not his biggest fan. But if the guy wants to spend his free time playing sports with his kids and enjoying some time with his friends, that's really not something he should be criticized for.
If Cousins' decision to prioritize the family that he's going to be with for the rest of his life over the team that he's likely going to move on from in the near future prevents him from winning a Super Bowl, it's safe to say that he's probably going to be okay with that.
Would he like to win a Super Bowl? Of course. But is he going to ruin his relationships with his family just to win a piece of jewelry? It's clear what's more important to Cousins, whether Simms likes it or not.