Falcons Expected To Have Interest In Kirk Cousins & Baker Mayfield

Dianna Russini of The Athletic expects the Falcons to have interest in veteran quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield this offseason.

Russini adds that new Falcons HC Raheem Morris and OC Zac Robinson are familiar with Cousins before noting that the team could see him as someone who could help them reach the playoffs.

Mayfield would be a consolation prize for Atlanta should they be unable to retain Cousins’ services, per Russini.

Cousins, 35, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons. 

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He’s in the final year of that deal in 2023 and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. 

In 2023, Cousins appeared in eight games for the Vikings and completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.

We have him included in our Top 100 – 2024 NFL Free Agents list.

Mayfield, 28, was drafted by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2018. He played out the fourth year of a four-year, $32.68 million rookie deal that included a $21.85 million signing bonus. 

The Browns exercised Mayfield’s fifth-year option which would have cost Cleveland $18.858 million fully guaranteed in 2022. However, Cleveland traded Mayfield to the Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick. 

Cleveland agreed to cover $10.5 million of Mayfield’s salary with the Panthers paying out the rest. However, Carolina cut Mayfield during the season and he was claimed off waivers by the Rams, finishing out his contract in Los Angeles.

Last offseason he signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay worth up to $8.5 million. 

In 2023, Mayfield appeared in all 17 games for the Buccaneers and completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to go along with 163 yards rushing and a touchdown.

We have him included in our Top 100 – 2024 NFL Free Agents list.

Check back with NFLTR for all the latest news and updates on Cousins, Mayfield, and the Falcons quarterback search.