NFL free agency: Falcons hand Kirk Cousins $180m deal as Eagles nab Saquon Barkley

The Atlanta Falcons added a proven starting quarterback to their roster of offensive weapons by agreeing to a four-year contract with Kirk Cousins ​​on Monday. Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, confirmed the move on social media on Monday. ESPN reports The deal is worth $180 million, with $100 million guaranteed.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to contracts with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and New York Jets defensive end Bryce Huff, according to multiple reports. Barkley is set to sign a three-year contract for $26 million guaranteed and $37.75 million total, while Huff will get a three-year contract for $51 million, according to sources. Free agents cannot officially sign with new teams until Wednesday. Barkley ran for 962 yards and six touchdowns in 14 seasons last season and had 41 catches, including four touchdowns. Huff has 17.5 career sacks, 65 total tackles and one forced fumble in four seasons with the Jets.

The Falcons have had talent on offense for several years, including Kyle Pitts, running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London, all of whom are top 10 draft picks. But they have not yet found a competent replacement for Matt Ryan, who left the team at the end of the 2021 season. While Cousins ​​ranks in the top half of NFL quarterbacks, he is 35 and coming off a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. Cousins ​​had a passer rating of 103.8 in eight games for the Vikings until the injury, the third. best in the league, while the Falcons struggled at quarterback with Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. Falcons owner Arthur Blank called his quarterback room “flawed” last season, and few fans would have disagreed.

Cousins, the epitome of a late bloomer, largely enjoyed the most effective performances of his career since the Vikings hired coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022.

However, the Vikings needed a succession plan regardless of how these negotiations went given Cousins’ age and their commitment to a “competitive rebuild,” as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has called it several times.

“After an important and positive dialogue with Kirk and his representatives, we were unable to reach agreement on a contract that fits the short- and long-term visions for both Kirk and the Minnesota Vikings,” Adofo-Mensah said in a statement. “Kirk holds a special place in Vikings history and we appreciate his leadership and contributions to the team and the Minneapolis-St Paul community over the past six seasons. We wish him, his wife Julie and their children all the best. Our approach to free agency has always included layers of contingencies regarding the quarterback position. We are moving forward with plans that will allow us to continue building a roster that can compete for a championship.”

The Vikings were serious in their desire to move on from Cousins, but given their cap situation and the recent improvement and prospects surrounding them by their NFC North foes, they had to have a cap on how much – and for how long – they could guarantee.

As much as Cousins ​​wanted to end his career with Minnesota, he also made it clear that he wanted to be appreciated with a commitment that went beyond a symbolic year.

“It’s not about the dollars, it’s about what the dollars represent,” Cousins ​​put it in an interview with reporters in January.

Not only has Cousins ​​been the consummate on-field standout, from an afterthought college recruit to a fourth-round draft pick to the current 24th on the NFL’s all-time list in career passing yards (39,471), but he also masters the business side of the field. game under McCartney’s guidance.

After playing on consecutive franchise tags for Washington in 2016 and 2017, Cousins ​​made money as the rare starting quarterback to hit free agency in 2018, when the Vikings had salary cap space and a pressing need at the position following an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. He received the first fully guaranteed multi-year contract in league history for a quarterback when he signed for $84 million. Over the past eight seasons, Cousins ​​has earned more than $228 million. He has won just one playoff game after the 2019 season. With the Falcons’ $100 million guaranteed, his career earnings will be just under $330 million, fourth all-time among NFL players and just $3 million behind Tom Brady.

If Cousins ​​remains with the Vikings for the duration of the deal, his career earnings will reach $411 million, the highest mark in league history.

The Vikings restructured Cousins’ deal a year ago without giving him any new money, resulting in a salary cap hit of $28.5 million in 2024 for the remaining signing bonus if they don’t reach an extension before the new league year officially begins on Wednesday afternoon. .

Elsewhere in the NFL, Russell Wilson agreed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback agreed to a contract worth the veteran’s minimum.