Inside The Vikings

PFT's Mike Florio Thinks Kirk Cousins is Headed to the Atlanta Falcons

Cousins to Atlanta? Florio thinks it's happening.

Will Ragatz

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ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio believes Kirk Cousins will be signing with the Atlanta Falcons this month.

On Monday evening, Florio published an article saying he has received "credible implications" that Cousins is "seriously considering moving his family to Atlanta." That report swung the betting markets to make the Falcons the favorites to land Cousins for the first time this offseason.

After apparently receiving some pushback on the legitimacy of his reporting, he posted this rather bizarre, defensive tweet.

Florio then went on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and doubled down on the things he's been hearing about Cousins prepping for a move to Atlanta. He says that these are tips he gets from readers that he then vets with sources in the know to confirm.

"You got things coming back to me that I confirm, from people who would know, that there's an effort to look for schools for the kids, a house for the family," Florio said. "Up to and including — I haven't confirmed this part yet, but it's just one of those little things that makes sense — talking to the guy who currently wears No. 8 (for the Falcons), Kyle Pitts, about getting No. 8."

Florio's broader stance on the situation is that he believes the Vikings have upset Cousins and his camp by letting things get to where they are right now. They've had exclusive negotiating rights with him up to this point, and Florio thinks their belief has been that Cousins won't get a better offer than theirs. And in doing so, they're now risking losing him.

"You get to a certain point where you F around and find out," he said to McAfee. "And you let it go too far down the tracks. And even if the Vikings will say, 'Oh wait, the Falcons are (offering) you that? We'll match it,' there's a chance (the Cousins camp) is going to say 'Sorry, you had your chance.'"

To me, that feels like a dramatization of the whole thing, even if it reaches the logical conclusion of Cousins heading to Atlanta.

Here's how the Cousins situation seems to be playing out. The Vikings, particularly head coach Kevin O'Connell, want him back. But for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, there are certain lines he's not willing to cross in terms of the money and structure of the deal they've been negotiating. Cousins likes the situation in Minnesota quite a bit, but he understandably wants to be valued and to maximize his earnings. So he's going to take this thing to free agency and see what's out there, with the Falcons being the most obvious suitor for a wide range of reasons.

The Vikings aren't going to come crawling back to Cousins if they think he's about to sign with Atlanta. They've been planning for the possibility of needing to find a new quarterback (or two) this offseason. If Cousins wants to come back on their terms, great. If not, they're content with letting him leave.

Speculatively, that's what seems to be going on. So while there's certainly still a chance Cousins winds up back in Minnesota, I continue to believe the most likely outcome is that he ends up in Atlanta.

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