Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins put on his grifter hat and lied through his smile during an interview with the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday.
Less than four months after telling Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen that he wanted to "retire a Viking," Kirk Cousins sat in a chair across from Atlanta Falcons digital producer Taylor Vismor for his first one-on-one interview as a member of his new team.
After a number of questions, Cousins had the following to say about what his goals are for the future as the starting quarterback of the Falcons.
"You certainly have a vision of where you want your career to end, and you have desires, and you're chasing those.
I want to retire a Falcon. That would really be my goal, to finish so strong that maybe this isn't even my last contract with Atlanta."
Kirk Cousins knows exactly why he left the Minnesota Vikings to sign with the Atlanta Falcons
Vikings fans have seen this before from Cousins. He says all the right things and convinces a significant portion of his team's fan base that he's doing everything he can to lead the team to success.
When the truth really is that he will "do whatever it takes" to help his team achieve success, as long as that attempt doesn't interfere with his ability to stuff his bank account.
Sure, Cousins has plenty of ties to the Atlanta area and he's going to tell everyone who will listen that it's a great fit for him and his family.
But anyone who has ever paid attention to what the veteran quarterback has done throughout his career when it comes to negotiating a contract, he would not have left to join the Falcons if Minnesota was willing to give him another deal with an excessive amount of guaranteed cash.
When it comes to Cousins, it's always about the money. It always has been, and it always will be.
In the interview that was mentioned earlier, he's literally already thinking about his next contract with the Falcons.
But here's the thing about that. It's completely fine that his main goal is to make as much money as possible during his playing career in the NFL.
What Cousins has been able to earn during his time in the league despite his lack of postseason success is something that we're probably never going to see again from a player in the NFL.
So it's okay for him to make stacks of cash; just don't be disingenuous about it.
Don't claim that the main goal is always all about winning and that the desire is to retire with your brand-new team. None of that even needs to be said.
But Cousins is going to tell people what they want to hear. It's what he's done during his entire career, and it's resulted in him now having the potential to finish his time in the league with more career earnings than legendary quarterback Tom Brady.
Atlanta fans are probably excited about their team's potential with Cousins as their starting signal-caller, and he's likely going to have some impressive performances next season.
But there is going to be a moment, because there always is, where the Falcons fan base realizes that Cousins' output doesn't even come close to being worth what it's costing the team to have him on their roster.
When that happens, Minnesota fans will be there to console the latest fan base that has become a victim of the ultimate con artist known as Kirk Cousins.