Kirk Cousins Leaving Minnesota Vikings, Agrees To Deal With New Team

The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly without a starting quarterback after reports of Kirk Cousins agreeing to a 4-year deal with a new team in the early parts of NFL Free Agency.

In a social media post from Kirk's agent, Mike McCartney, Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons have agreed to a 4-year deal that will bring him to Atlanta, ending his 6-year tenure with the Vikings.

Since the initial news about the deal broke, we have learned that the 4-year deal is worth $180 million, which includes a $50 million signing bonus and $100 million guaranteed, as reported by Tom Pelissero.

A lot of people are shocked by a team offering a soon-to-be 36-year-old Cousins a massive 4-year contract - especially as he comes off a season-ending Achilles injury in the 2023 season. Despite that shock, it is no surprise how and why the Vikings couldn't compete with what the Falcons were willing to offer.

The "legal tampering period" opened at 11 am central time on Monday, where teams and free agents could talk to each other and begin contract talks. While many expected we would get news shortly after 11 am, news finally broke about one of the biggest free agents of the 2024 NFL offseason about two and a half hours after the tampering period opened.

READ MORE: Are the Minnesota Vikings in trouble?

The deal cannot be made official until 3 pm on Wednesday when the free agency period officially opens, but the two sides have agreed to a deal that will put Kirk on the third team of his NFL career.

What's next?

For Kirk, he goes to a soft division paired up with a competitive team and he gets the stability he desires in getting a 4-year deal.

For the Vikings, that's a big question.

With Kirk departing and Joshua Dobbs (also an unrestricted free agent) not likely to be brought back, that leaves the team with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the roster. Neither of those two options lend themselves to a lot of confidence.

That leaves free agency, which as I pointed out in an earlier article is not a great field, or the NFL Draft.

Rumors are swirling that the Vikings might try to grab Sam Darnold as a bridge quarterback and try to draft the quarterback of the future in the draft later this spring.

The Vikings currently own the 11th overall pick in the first round, which is not a great place to be in if they desire grabbing a top quarterback. The Vikings could try to trade to move up in the draft, or they could hope one of their choices falls to 11.

The Vikings offseason just got a whole lot more interesting.