Latest on Kirk’s decision to leave Minnesota

[StanM]

The local sports YouTube channels are reporting something interesting about Kirk leaving. Apparently in addition to only offering to guarantee a first year Kirk was informed that by the Vikings that they planned on drafting a QB. Kirk opted to leave and was all set to be the main man making appearances and charming the fans….until round eight of the draft.

I know the Kirk era is over and I have moved on but this is interesting news. We know what happens when as KOC said “Kirk doesn’t have a clear mind”. The Vikings have brought in a lot of talent and will be exciting to watch. Meanwhile the Falcons QB situation will be something to keep one eye on this season as well.

[VikingLord]

Atlanta's decision to draft Penix makes less sense to me by the day. It was as perplexing, if not more perplexing, then KAM's decision to trade down to the 32nd pick with the Lions to swap 2nd rounders in his first draft. Just not good value for the needs of the team at the time. A lot has been said about the Falcons doing what the Packers did when they drafted Jordan Love as a longer-term plan, but at the time the Packers made the Love pick they had a short-term plan as well. The Falcons are an incredibly flawed team on the defensive side that needed to address that in this year's draft, and unless they saw Penix as a QB with game-changing potential, drafting a QB where they did and after all they spent to acquire Cousins seems like an own-goal to me. Maybe the defensive side of the ball down in Atlanta will be resolved via other moves they made this offseason, but the Falcons needed an impact defensive player at 8 and they had their pick of the litter and chose to pass for a future that seems less uncertain after the move they made instead of more.

As for Cousins, he learned a hard lesson. He'd spent most of the early and middle portions of his career playing contract hot potato with first the Redskins and then the Vikings. Never wanting a longer term commitment just in case the grass became greener somewhere else. And then when he finally changed his perspective on commitment and he thought he saw greener grass somewhere else, he finds out the hard way it's astroturf. After the commitment Atlanta made to him, I can totally understand how shocking it must have been to watch them take a QB at #8, but at the same time, Cousins got what he deserved. It will be interesting to watch as the sun sets on his career down there. He had a good thing going with the Vikings even if I don't think it would have ever resulted in a championship run. Still, probably the best thing for both Cousins and the Vikings that they parted ways this offseason. We will probably all be thanking Atlanta at some point for both forcing change at the QB spot and for making sure the Vikings could draft McCarthy.

[Cliff]

I don't think Kirk cares in the slightest as long as Cosins INC. is doing ok.

[CharVike]

Atlanta GM said they drafted Penix to make sure they were stable at the most important position. They are set for 5 years. Yes drafting a D player should help but if Kirk goes down the season would be over. Now they have 1 of the 6 superstars to plug in. QBs are to valuable to say no thanks. Any player would take guaranteed money over a maybe. I don't blame Kirk at all. Looks like a win. I'm sure his wife is happy to be with her family. Kirk has seen the competition come and go. I highly doubt some draft pick who based on previous drafts more than likely will suck causes any issues or fear. His new team has a better shot at making the playoffs than us. Perhaps he wants to win? Plus the Falcons OL isn't some Swiss cheese group. That's another win. Many wins for him in this deal.

[Thaumaturgist]

I'll just say... 100 million guaranteed. If he's upset, he'll wipe his tears away with that money..

[VikingLord]

Atlanta GM said they drafted Penix to make sure they were stable at the most important position. They are set for 5 years. Yes drafting a D player should help but if Kirk goes down the season would be over. Now they have 1 of the 6 superstars to plug in. QBs are to valuable to say no thanks. Any player would take guaranteed money over a maybe. I don't blame Kirk at all. Looks like a win. I'm sure his wife is happy to be with her family. Kirk has seen the competition come and go. I highly doubt some draft pick who based on previous drafts more than likely will suck causes any issues or fear. His new team has a better shot at making the playoffs than us. Perhaps he wants to win? Plus the Falcons OL isn't some Swiss cheese group. That's another win. Many wins for him in this deal.

Kirk apparently felt slighted that A) KAM wouldn't give him a longer deal and B) KAM told him the Vikings would take a QB in the draft if the right guy was on the board. Atlanta apparently told him that A) they'd give him a 4 year deal with guaranteed years and B) he would be the starter for those years.

I don't think Kirk takes the Atlanta deal if he knows they were going to draft a QB at 8. Not sure if he stays with the Vikings (probably would have because I don't think any other team would have offered him close to what the Falcons did), but I don't think he would have moved.

Also, not sure that the Falcons have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Vikings do this coming year. The Falcons didn't address their Achilles heel this offseason. Better QB play and more offensive production could mask that, but they will still struggle to stop opponents.

The Vikings, meanwhile, should still have a potent offense with either Darnold or McCarthy and look like they could be just as effective on defense. The main wildcards for the 2024 Vikings will be what happens with their divisional opponents as the level of competition in the North could improve. But the Bears still have substantial question marks, I'm not convinced the Packers are all that good, and the Lions finished strong but I'm not sold on them as a dominant division champion. I think the Vikings should be able to stay in the mix, and if McCarthy turns out to be the real deal and wins the starting job, they might be even better than what we saw last year.

[VikingLord]

I'll just say... 100 million guaranteed. If he's upset, he'll wipe his tears away with that money..

Money will be Kirk's legacy... If he was exceptional at winning anything during his tenure as a pro QB, it was with his bank account.

On the field, he'll be remembered as someone who could never elevate his play when it mattered the most.

[CharVike]

Atlanta GM said they drafted Penix to make sure they were stable at the most important position. They are set for 5 years. Yes drafting a D player should help but if Kirk goes down the season would be over. Now they have 1 of the 6 superstars to plug in. QBs are to valuable to say no thanks. Any player would take guaranteed money over a maybe. I don't blame Kirk at all. Looks like a win. I'm sure his wife is happy to be with her family. Kirk has seen the competition come and go. I highly doubt some draft pick who based on previous drafts more than likely will suck causes any issues or fear. His new team has a better shot at making the playoffs than us. Perhaps he wants to win? Plus the Falcons OL isn't some Swiss cheese group. That's another win. Many wins for him in this deal.

Kirk apparently felt slighted that A) KAM wouldn't give him a longer deal and B) KAM told him the Vikings would take a QB in the draft if the right guy was on the board. Atlanta apparently told him that A) they'd give him a 4 year deal with guaranteed years and B) he would be the starter for those years.

I don't think Kirk takes the Atlanta deal if he knows they were going to draft a QB at 8. Not sure if he stays with the Vikings (probably would have because I don't think any other team would have offered him close to what the Falcons did), but I don't think he would have moved.

Also, not sure that the Falcons have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Vikings do this coming year. The Falcons didn't address their Achilles heel this offseason. Better QB play and more offensive production could mask that, but they will still struggle to stop opponents.

The Vikings, meanwhile, should still have a potent offense with either Darnold or McCarthy and look like they could be just as effective on defense. The main wildcards for the 2024 Vikings will be what happens with their divisional opponents as the level of competition in the North could improve. But the Bears still have substantial question marks, I'm not convinced the Packers are all that good, and the Lions finished strong but I'm not sold on them as a dominant division champion. I think the Vikings should be able to stay in the mix, and if McCarthy turns out to be the real deal and wins the starting job, they might be even better than what we saw last year.

I'm not really sure what Kirk's feelings are. Atlanta seems like an ideal fit especially considering his wife is from there. The odds makers seem to favor Atl more than us to make the playoffs. I will assume divisional competition plays into that. Many here write off the Packers but they do have some positives. First they are the youngest team in the NFL. The have a solid OL and some young WRs who are developing. Love threw 32 TD passes. That's not bad at all. They improved as the season went on and kicked our a$$ the last game. They tore Flores D up both in the air and ground. That's getting beat at the point badly. The Lions torched our D for 30 both times. That's not a good D and we said goodbye to our best player. He signed a big deal because he's a dam good player. Our D got worse as we marched through the season. That's not a good sign. It could be who we faced also. I hope the Lions and Packers turn to garbage. But IMO they have built a nice core starting at the point. Edit they turned down Kirk before for a cheaper deal so maybe this has been going on for a few years. Kirk signed in a snap of the finger with Atl. That deal didn't happen in 10 minutes.

[allday1991]

Kirk apparently felt slighted that A) KAM wouldn't give him a longer deal and B) KAM told him the Vikings would take a QB in the draft if the right guy was on the board. Atlanta apparently told him that A) they'd give him a 4 year deal with guaranteed years and B) he would be the starter for those years.

I don't think Kirk takes the Atlanta deal if he knows they were going to draft a QB at 8. Not sure if he stays with the Vikings (probably would have because I don't think any other team would have offered him close to what the Falcons did), but I don't think he would have moved.

Also, not sure that the Falcons have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Vikings do this coming year. The Falcons didn't address their Achilles heel this offseason. Better QB play and more offensive production could mask that, but they will still struggle to stop opponents.

The Vikings, meanwhile, should still have a potent offense with either Darnold or McCarthy and look like they could be just as effective on defense. The main wildcards for the 2024 Vikings will be what happens with their divisional opponents as the level of competition in the North could improve. But the Bears still have substantial question marks, I'm not convinced the Packers are all that good, and the Lions finished strong but I'm not sold on them as a dominant division champion. I think the Vikings should be able to stay in the mix, and if McCarthy turns out to be the real deal and wins the starting job, they might be even better than what we saw last year.

I'm not really sure what Kirk's feelings are. Atlanta seems like an ideal fit especially considering his wife is from there. The odds makers seem to favor Atl more than us to make the playoffs. I will assume divisional competition plays into that. Many here write off the Packers but they do have some positives. First they are the youngest team in the NFL. The have a solid OL and some young WRs who are developing. Love threw 32 TD passes. That's not bad at all. They improved as the season went on and kicked our a$$ the last game. They tore Flores D up both in the air and ground. That's getting beat at the point badly. The Lions torched our D for 30 both times. That's not a good D and we said goodbye to our best player. He signed a big deal because he's a dam good player. Our D got worse as we marched through the season. That's not a good sign. It could be who we faced also. I hope the Lions and Packers turn to garbage. But IMO they have built a nice core starting at the point. Edit they turned down Kirk before for a cheaper deal so maybe this has been going on for a few years. Kirk signed in a snap of the finger with Atl. That deal didn't happen in 10 minutes.

Defence was playing top 10 at one point. Once Kirk went down it was just a matter of time before reality set in on the team, I’m sure lots of players lost hope. Also I’d be interested to see the TOP once Kirk went down. Sure we lost Hunter however I believe Greenard and Turner is an upgrade over our end duo from last year.

I believe greenbay could take a step back this year, I’m not buying what they’re selling. They barely had a wr over 700 yards, they lost their lead back. The nfl has a whole season of tape on that offence. If Kirk doesn’t go down we take their playoff spot last year 100%.

[J. Kapp 11]

The entire thing is the very definition of irony.

Look, I feel bad about what happened to him last year. He was playing elite football, and the Achilles injury was the kind of thing you don’t wish on your worst enemy.

But I don’t feel one bit sorry for Kirk overall. He’s had a long career in the NFL. He’s made nearly $300 million with another $100 million coming, guaranteed, yet he’s won a single playoff game in 12 years. He’ll never get a vote for Canton unless they create a special Lifetime Negotiator award.

When it’s all said and done, here’s a guy who hasn’t had a serious threat to his position on any roster since he was teammates with RGIII, bellyaching over his new team bringing in a first-round rookie. Color me a deep shade of “I Don’t Care.”

I’m over Kirk. Maybe its just me, but it was a pretty easy breakup.

[StanM]

I look at the whole thing as one more story line to follow in our most interesting offseason in many years. I’m not hoping for things to go south for Kirk but it is an interesting scenario that will have me following his progress in Atlanta.

[CharVike]

I'm not really sure what Kirk's feelings are. Atlanta seems like an ideal fit especially considering his wife is from there. The odds makers seem to favor Atl more than us to make the playoffs. I will assume divisional competition plays into that. Many here write off the Packers but they do have some positives. First they are the youngest team in the NFL. The have a solid OL and some young WRs who are developing. Love threw 32 TD passes. That's not bad at all. They improved as the season went on and kicked our a$$ the last game. They tore Flores D up both in the air and ground. That's getting beat at the point badly. The Lions torched our D for 30 both times. That's not a good D and we said goodbye to our best player. He signed a big deal because he's a dam good player. Our D got worse as we marched through the season. That's not a good sign. It could be who we faced also. I hope the Lions and Packers turn to garbage. But IMO they have built a nice core starting at the point. Edit they turned down Kirk before for a cheaper deal so maybe this has been going on for a few years. Kirk signed in a snap of the finger with Atl. That deal didn't happen in 10 minutes.

Defence was playing top 10 at one point. Once Kirk went down it was just a matter of time before reality set in on the team, I’m sure lots of players lost hope. Also I’d be interested to see the TOP once Kirk went down. Sure we lost Hunter however I believe Greenard and Turner is an upgrade over our end duo from last year.

I believe greenbay could take a step back this year, I’m not buying what they’re selling. They barely had a wr over 700 yards, they lost their lead back. The nfl has a whole season of tape on that offence. If Kirk doesn’t go down we take their playoff spot last year 100%.

Green Bay could go backwards. But they are young and did improve as the year progressed so it don't point towards that. They let Jones go and signed the younger Jacobs. He had 1600 yards 2 years ago and was an all pro. A guy I forgot was D.J. Wonnum he had 8 sacks for us and he's gone also.

[VikingLord]

I’m over Kirk. Maybe its just me, but it was a pretty easy breakup.

I thought KAM would cut ties with Kirk and start looking for his franchise QB when he first took the GM job with the Vikings. That was when there was a natural break in the contract situation IIRC and would have been the best time for the team to change direction at QB. When KAM extended him for another 2 years I figured he didn't feel like it was the right time to make a move at QB and/or he wanted to make a smoother, more considered move at the position or the Wilfs were pressuring him or all three. And then this year it became obvious that although the Vikings intended to make a move at QB over the longer term, KAM apparently still wanted to keep Cousins around over the shorter term.

But like you, I look at that playoff record where it really mattered and wondered why KAM kept Cousins around at all. The other games where Cousins consistently shrank in the moments where he needed to shine. Yeah, he could play well at times, but he never seemed to play well when the Vikings most needed him to be the difference.

For me, breaking up with Cousins wasn't hard at all. He was and always will be fool's gold. And if anything, the Falcons drafting Penix tells me even they know that. While they bet a lot on Cousins even they couldn't pass up the chance to draft someone who might actually be capable of changing the outcome of a game at QB. Drafting an older rookie QB like Penix with the 8th pick in a draft and signing him to a 4-5 year rookie deal just after inking an older vet QB coming off a major injury to a 4 year deal is NOT hedging for the future even if that is what they are saying publicly. That is saying "we think we spotted a major talent at QB and couldn't pass him up". Penix will get his chances to win that starting job, and if he shows up Cousins, Cousins will be sitting on the outside looking in even with all that guaranteed money in his deal.

I openly wondered on this board a few months ago whether Cousins would ever regret making the move to Atlanta. Even though I am happy he is no longer the Vikings QB, he had a good thing going here even if it appeared to finally be coming to an end. I thought if Cousins did regret making the move at some point it would be down the road a bit, but it appears like that day of reckoning might have come before he even played a down for the Falcons.

[VikingLord]

Defence was playing top 10 at one point. Once Kirk went down it was just a matter of time before reality set in on the team, I’m sure lots of players lost hope. Also I’d be interested to see the TOP once Kirk went down. Sure we lost Hunter however I believe Greenard and Turner is an upgrade over our end duo from last year.

I believe greenbay could take a step back this year, I’m not buying what they’re selling. They barely had a wr over 700 yards, they lost their lead back. The nfl has a whole season of tape on that offence. If Kirk doesn’t go down we take their playoff spot last year 100%.

Green Bay could go backwards. But they are young and did improve as the year progressed so it don't point towards that. They let Jones go and signed the younger Jacobs. He had 1600 yards 2 years ago and was an all pro. A guy I forgot was D.J. Wonnum he had 8 sacks for us and he's gone also.

I'm not sold on Jordan Love being all that good. The last time I saw a QB throw that many jump passes was when Ponder was the QB of the Vikings. He had decent stats but he doesn't strike me as a future star.

If Caleb Williams works out the Bears will get very good very fast. However, the track record for QBs taken first overall hasn't been all that great, and while Williams is great off script, that can become a huge liability too in the pros. We'll have to see how that works out for the Bears. The Lions are the only team in the North that can comfortably say they've arrived and have the sort of positional stability and track record to indicate they should be good again this year. Although I'm still not sold on Dan Campbell. He reminds me a lot of Mike Tice who could certainly relate to his players and knew the game, but was too driven by emotional responses in games and struggled as a tactician against better opponents.

For the Vikings, QB is THE key. If either Darnold plays up to his ceiling or McCarthy comes in and wows out of the gate, I think the Vikings should be right in the mix. They certainly still have substantial offensive firepower, I think the defense will be better than last year, and KOC has his legs fully under him now. He's got the young, high character QB he can coach up and mold. If QB doesn't pan out for the Vikings this year I'll be looking for evidence of McCarthy's emergence.

[CharVike]

I’m over Kirk. Maybe its just me, but it was a pretty easy breakup.

I thought KAM would cut ties with Kirk and start looking for his franchise QB when he first took the GM job with the Vikings. That was when there was a natural break in the contract situation IIRC and would have been the best time for the team to change direction at QB. When KAM extended him for another 2 years I figured he didn't feel like it was the right time to make a move at QB and/or he wanted to make a smoother, more considered move at the position or the Wilfs were pressuring him or all three. And then this year it became obvious that although the Vikings intended to make a move at QB over the longer term, KAM apparently still wanted to keep Cousins around over the shorter term.

But like you, I look at that playoff record where it really mattered and wondered why KAM kept Cousins around at all. The other games where Cousins consistently shrank in the moments where he needed to shine. Yeah, he could play well at times, but he never seemed to play well when the Vikings most needed him to be the difference.

For me, breaking up with Cousins wasn't hard at all. He was and always will be fool's gold. And if anything, the Falcons drafting Penix tells me even they know that. While they bet a lot on Cousins even they couldn't pass up the chance to draft someone who might actually be capable of changing the outcome of a game at QB. Drafting an older rookie QB like Penix with the 8th pick in a draft and signing him to a 4-5 year rookie deal just after inking an older vet QB coming off a major injury to a 4 year deal is NOT hedging for the future even if that is what they are saying publicly. That is saying "we think we spotted a major talent at QB and couldn't pass him up". Penix will get his chances to win that starting job, and if he shows up Cousins, Cousins will be sitting on the outside looking in even with all that guaranteed money in his deal.

I openly wondered on this board a few months ago whether Cousins would ever regret making the move to Atlanta. Even though I am happy he is no longer the Vikings QB, he had a good thing going here even if it appeared to finally be coming to an end. I thought if Cousins did regret making the move at some point it would be down the road a bit, but it appears like that day of reckoning might have come before he even played a down for the Falcons.

The only playoff win he ever had it was a road dog win and as usual Zim's D didn't feel like playing. That's only one example and there are others. After watching us pass on Rodgers twice during that draft and drafting nothing I think the Falcons made a smart move. If he was the top player on their board you can't skip that. Obviously he was ranked higher than JJM or Nix on their board. IMO I wouldn't even draft Penix just based on his college history and his choke job in the champ game. But I'm not a scout. But if Penix is a true superstar QB they are set for the next 15 years at the most important position. Cousins can ride the bench until he packs it in and then they can give Penix a monster deal. The Falcons were sick of having nothing at QB and zero chance of getting the playoff revenue so they stacked the roster with a good vet and a potential superstar rookie. They can't compete with that 49er team for a SB berth regardless of QB because they lack the overall talent to make that happen. But they do have a better chance of making the playoffs.