Finally, some real journalistic perspective on the will-he-won’t-he free agent talk surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Imagine a couple of years ago someone telling you that one of the biggest free agent stories in 2024 would be where Kirk Cousins was going to end up. You would have probably audibly made the “pshh” sound, and maybe even asked the follow up question of:
“You mean the guy that has notoriously plays bad in prime time games? That Kirk Cousins?”
But here we are, and all we can do is hurry up and wait to see where Kirk Cousins, who is coming off of a season-ending injury, will suit up and play QB in the 2024-2025 season. Considering he was having an MVP-caliber season before he went down, I guess it sort of makes sense that a lot of teams would like to kick the tires on 35-year-old quarterback.
One team in particular isn’t just kicking the tires. The Atlanta Falcons are doing a full, thorough inspection of Cousins (arguably earlier than they are allowed to… *cough* tampering *cough*). For a very long time, the Vikings remained the odds-on favorite to keep Cousins, but that line shifted as the discourse continues to suggest that Kirk could be heading to the ATL.
Now why would Kirk Cousins want to leave a talented, young team in Minnesota to go play for a question-mark-of-a-team in Georgia? Some have suggested that it’s because his wife, Julie, is from the area. Others have said that Atlanta can offer him more money, and maybe even a longer deal.
The rumors have swirled around Cousins and Atlanta at gale-force speeds, but today was the first time I saw a theory that was actually convincing. Why would Kirk uproot his life as a Viking (as we saw in Netflix’s Quarterback show) and move to Atlanta? The answer is quite simple.
Kohl’s.
There are at least 20 Kohl’s within probably an hour’s drive from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For a man that really values Kohl’s cash, the decision to move to Atlanta could be a no brainer. In fact, there’s 28 locations in all of Minnesota. Guess how many are in Georgia? 33. It’s nothing personal, it’s just math.
Now that I think about it, has anyone tried to offer Kirk a contract that includes Kohl’s cash incentives?
That’s pretty damning evidence right there. If Minnesota wants to keep their QB, they better start expediting construction of additional Kohl’s locations. They say money talks when it comes to negotiating, and you better be talking Kohl’s cash when your dealing with Kirk Cousins.
As he proved with his Kohl’s cash chain:
