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Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Since trading quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts on March 21, 2022, the Atlanta Falcons had been searching for a successor.
The Falcons pursued Deshaun Watson, who ended up in Cleveland with a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. The Falcons then signed Marcus Mariota, who was benched after 13 games due to poor play. Atlanta drafted Desmond Ridder in the third round of the 2022 draft — a year when the quarterback prospects were noticeably thin.
Of quarterbacks drafted that year, Ridder, Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell have all been traded midway through their rookie deals and are likely to be backups with their new teams. Malik Willis and Matt Corral never gained full-time starting jobs. Bailey Zappe started six games for the New England last year, but he’s in an uncertain situation with the Patriots. The best of the bunch has been the last pick of the draft, the San Francisco 49ers‘ Brock Purdy.
Last year, the Falcons signed Taylor Heinicke to back up Ridder — and be a fail-safe if it didn’t go well. Neither Ridder nor Heinicke had the success Atlanta needed or wanted, with team owner Arthur Blank calling the quarterback play “deficient.”
It led Atlanta to fire former coach Arthur Smith, and the Falcons entered the 2024 offseason in the same spot as two years ago: in desperate need of a quarterback.
Ex-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins became available in free agency, and the Falcons believed Cousins would be the answer. Last week, when Cousins drove from Michigan to Georgia, he became what the Falcons hope will be the solution.
Signing Cousins will accelerate the changing of Atlanta’s offense. New coordinator Zac Robinson was the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past two seasons for Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams, who over the past three seasons have run 11 personnel — three receivers, a running back and a tight end — more than any team in the league at 89.6%. The Falcons under Smith ran 11 personnel the least in the league in that span, 26.9%, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
In games Cousins started in Minnesota in 2022 and 2023 under Kevin O’Connell, who also comes from the McVay tree, the Vikings ran 11 personnel 70.3% of the time — perhaps another indicator of what Atlanta will run.
While Robinson hasn’t said what his offense will look like, McVay’s style is all he’s worked under as an NFL coach. And Robinson said in February he “learned a ton” from McVay, from syncing up run-and-pass schemes to packaging plays, and he plans to implement it in Atlanta.
“I believe there will be [similarities],” Cousins said. “I think time will tell. I think every coordinator puts their spin on things, so what was similar starts to evolve and change. But I’ll be able to be here as we do that. So I’m excited to just get to work and start trying to get this playbook digested.
“But I’d like to think a lot of the language and a lot of the stuff that can be hard early on will be something that I plug and play a little faster.”
Under O’Connell, Cousins completed 67.1% of his passes for 6,878 yards, 47 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Quarterback wins aren’t always telling, but the Vikings were 17-8 in games Cousins started the past two seasons before he tore his right Achilles in October.
Falcons quarterbacks since the start of 2022? They completed 61.8% of their passes for 6,223 yards, 34 touchdowns and 26 interceptions — and a 14-20 record.
In signing Cousins, Atlanta immediately became a team with a more accurate quarterback — and one familiar working with high-level players. In Minnesota, Cousins threw to receiver Justin Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson and handed the ball off to Dalvin Cook.
In Atlanta, he’ll throw to receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts and hand off to running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier — a quartet of players on rookie deals with high-level capabilities. Cousins also helped recruit ex-Chicago Bears receiver Darnell Mooney to Atlanta — calling him when he was told the Falcons were close to signing him.
“I see playmakers on the outside,” Cousins said in his introductory news conference. “I see an offensive line that’s talented, that’s played together, that’s well-coached.”
The last time the Falcons could feel this comfortable at quarterback entering a season, with no massive skill-level questions and understanding the type of player they were getting — was in 2021 with Ryan.
Ryan was over 65% completions all but one season of his final decade in Atlanta. He had at least 20 touchdowns per season over that span. He was durable. He knew how to lead and was who the players turned to in critical situations.
Cousins, with five Pro Bowls and a completion percentage over 65% in all but one of his NFL seasons since becoming a full-time starter in 2015, can provide what Ryan used to. It’s what the Falcons are searching for.