Kirk Cousins Rumors: Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers
By Adam Patrick
Different NFC North QB could offer higher upside for Atlanta Falcons than Kirk Cousins
Before the 2023 NFL season even came to a close, the Falcons were mentioned as a possible landing spot for Kirk Cousins this year.
There are a lot of things that make Cousins ending up with Atlanta this offseason a believable outcome.
The quarterback has family in the area as his wife grew up near Atlanta, he's trained in the city in the past, and he's familiar with the offensive scheme that new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is likely going to install this year.
Despite all of these connected dots and the fact that Atlanta currently has more than $33 million in cap space, it doesn't sound like Cousins is set in stone as the No. 1 target on the team's list of potential starting quarterbacks for the 2024 season just yet.
Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz recently went on the "Zach Gelb Show" and shared why he would prefer to see the Falcons attempt to acquire Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields this offseason instead of Cousins.
"I think if you line [Justin Fields] up with Bijan [Robinson], with [Tyler] Allgeier, with those weapons, [and] a healthy Kyle Pitts, to me, the upside is higher.
I guess the floor is probably higher with Cousins, but the upside is higher with Fields."
Schultz is not wrong when it comes to Fields still having the potential to achieve more success in his NFL career than Cousins, as the Bears' current quarterback is only 24-years-old.
However, does Fields fit the mold of what Atlanta wants to do on offense in 2024? Robinson is coming from a Los Angeles Rams that preferred to have a pocket passer run their offense, and he would have to make some major changes to his scheme if the Falcons acquired Fields
If Atlanta's new offensive coordinator wants to run something similar to the Rams' offensive system next season, then Cousins is probably the better fit over Fields, regardless of how exciting the Falcons' offense could potentially be with the current Chicago signal-caller starting under center.