Former Vikings draft pick teaming up with Kirk Cousins in Atlanta

Kirk Cousins is in the middle of his first offseason as a member of the Atlanta Falcons after parting with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year. Cousins is with a new team for the first time since 2018, so he's had to adjust to a locker room with a bunch of new faces inside during the last few months.

Luckily for Cousins, there are actually a few former Vikings players who are also currently on the Falcons' roster that he was teammates with for at least a brief part of his tenure in Minnesota, including Mike Hughes, Kyle Hinton, and Storm Norton.

On Tuesday, Atlanta signed another one of Cousins's former Vikings teammates when they agreed to a deal with free-agent cornerback Harrison Hand. In order to make room for Hand on their roster, the Falcons also released rookie corner Anthony Sao.

Former Minnesota Vikings CB Harrison Hand signs with the Atlanta Falcons

Hand first entered the league as a member of Minnesota after they selected him in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He went on to appear in 14 games during his rookie season with the Vikings (including one start), and he finished with 17 tackles, three pass breakups, and one interception.

The following year, he only appeared in nine games for the Vikings, with 115 of his 117 total snaps coming on special teams. He then wound up getting waived by Minnesota as part of the team's final cuts before the start of the 2022 regular season.

After his time with the Vikings, he had a cup of coffee with the New York Giants, and then he eventually landed with the Chicago Bears, where he spent the majority of the 2022 season. In four appearances with the Bears that year, he accumulated 12 tackles, one forced fumble, and one pass breakup.

Hand attempted to make Chicago's roster in 2023, but he was not among the players the team selected for their final regular-season roster. After getting cut by the Bears, he didn't end up signing with any other team for the 2023 season.

Hand is still only 25-years-old, but if he doesn't earn a spot on Atlanta's final 2024 roster, then his time in the NFL is probably going to come to a close.

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