Cam Newton lights Falcons up for 'egregious' Kirk Cousins contract

Despite the fact that he will be 36 by the start of the 2024 regular season and he's coming off of a torn Achilles, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was still able to land another lucrative contract this year thanks to the Atlanta Falcons.

Cousins is now on track to earn more than $300 million in his NFL career after signing a four-year deal worth $180 million with the Falcons last month.

Unsurprisingly, a variety of opinions have been shared during the last few weeks about the latest big-money contract the former Vikings quarterback was able to land. Most recently, a former NFL MVP winner chimed in with his thoughts about the massive deal Atlanta decided to give Cousins.

Atlanta Falcons deal with former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins called "egregious" by former NFL MVP

During a recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" interview show, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton shared his thoughts on a number of different topics related to his playing career and some of the current things happening around the league.

Cousins' contract with the Falcons was something that came up during the interview, and Newton had the following to say about the latest stack of cash the former Minnesota signal-caller was able to land.

"It ain't even, I mean, [his new contract is] egregious, and I love the fact that [Cousins is] able to get that money.

But what the Falcons paid Kirk Cousins, they could have [signed] Cam Newton, Justin Fields, and Michael Vick for that price."

Newton then went on to question why Atlanta seemingly disregarded Cousins' not even being fully recovered from his torn Achilles when other teams didn't do the same for him in the past when he was dealing with more minor injuries.

"[People said], 'Cam's getting old. He ain't getting no younger. He 32 at the time. He coming off a shoulder injury, Lisfranc.' Cool, all things that are not quote-unquote serious injuries. [They're not] career-ending.

...So now, [Cousins is] coming back, I had this take on '4th & 1', you are giving this person the money coming off of [a serious] injury. So, how am I supposed to feel? Because the same questions and the same concerns that you had with me, obviously you done overlooked that.

And if you give Kirk Cousins my resume, he probably would've got more [money]. But I'm tripping. But I'm bitter. But I'm mad. [Actually], I'm not. I'm just exposing the truth. And it's for you to digest it however you feel."

It seems like Newton is referring to the 2022 offseason when he was coming off of a 2021 campaign with the Carolina Panthers in which he went 0-5 as a starter while completing 54.8 percent of his passes for 684 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions which resulted in a 64.4 passer rating.

That on-field performance likely had more to do with Newton not getting signed by a team in 2022 than some of the injuries he was dealing with.

As for Cousins, he was playing some of the best football of his career last season before he tore his Achilles. In eight games, he completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just five interceptions.

Newton does have a point in that it's still a little mind-boggling that the Falcons were willing to give Cousins such a gigantic contract after he tore his Achilles last season. But Atlanta clearly believes the former Vikings quarterback is on track to recover well from his injury and they're banking on him returning to performing at a level similar to how he played in 2023.

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