'I'm Good With No. 18': Kirk Cousins Explains New Jersey Number With Atlanta Falcons

After wearing No. 8 throughout his NFL career, Kirk Cousins will be rocking No. 18 for the Atlanta Falcons. The reason has a lot to do with money, and lots of it.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 5, 2024

Oct 18, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) and / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

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Atlanta Falcons

After wearing the same number on his jersey throughout his career, Kirk Cousins will begin a new era of sots once he officially suits up for the Atlanta Falcons next season. Cousins, who wore No. 8 with the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders, will now don No. 18 in Atlanta.

The reason? Financials that both Cousins and Kyle Pitts were unwilling to pay, according to the Falcons’ new QB1 appearing on The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal and Adam Lefkoe.

“It’s hilarious, yeah,” Cousins said of his number situation with Pitts. “So, he wanted to switch numbers anyways, so it was like a perfect fit. He’s like ‘I want to switch numbers. You want No. 8? This is perfect.’ I was like ‘great!’ And then the league spoke into it. And like well, Kyle Pitts has a lot of jerseys that are No. 8 with Pitts on the back. You would have to buy every single one.”

Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) smiles with / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

Cousins and Pitts were very willing to switch, but the price was just too much. Several hundred thousand dollars for Cousins and Pitts to pay the league? Simply not worth it in their eyes.

“It was several hundred thousand.” Cousins confirmed. “I’m good with No. 18. And Kyle is like ‘I’m good with No. 8.’ So, were going with Nos. 8 and 18.”

While Cousins and Pitts weren’t able to come through on the money to make their preferred number changes happen, expect them to hook up on plenty of throws throughout the next few years in Atlanta’s newly high-powered offensive attack.

Published Apr 5, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.