Kirk Cousins Admits Leaving Justin Jefferson Was Difficult, But Vikings’ 1-Year Offer Pushed His Exit

Kirk Cousins’ departure from the Minnesota Vikings after six years marked the end of an era for the quarterback affectionately known as “Kirko Chainz.” However, his move to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency wasn’t an easy decision, it was quite the challenge of leaving behind strong relationships forged over time.

In a recent ‘Scoop City’ podcast appearance, Cousins opened up about the difficulties of parting ways with the Vikings. The team, according to the QB, was pretty open and transparent in negotiations, which ultimately helped Cousins decide to leave.

As per him, the Vikings front office wasn’t interested in offering him a long-term extension, and he wasn’t interested in continuing his career there without strong commitment from the team. However, he couldn’t help but look back at the relationships he’d fostered during his time with the team, and said,

“Kevin as a head coach was difficult to leave. Justin Jefferson was difficult to leave, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson, umm, there were a lot of positives.”

However, the quarterback recognized the writing on the wall regarding his contract extension in Minnesota:

“But, ultimately, I just felt like it had been and it was going to be basically one year, one year, one year, and I felt ‘yeah, maybe, I do play in Minnesota for another five or six years but it’s going to be on one-year contracts.’ That’s how they wanted, that’s the path they have chosen.”

While Cousins was open to continuing with the Vikings on a year-to-year basis if necessary, the Falcons presented a more appealing long-term opportunity.

That prospect of stability and a fresh start ultimately swayed his decision after which he had to bid farewell to coach O’Connell and star receiver Jefferson. The Falcons quarterback also gave insight into what happened behind the scenes as he was making his decision.

Cousins details his conversation with O’Connell before leaving

Cousins shed light on the Vikings’ desire for roster flexibility in conversation with the hosts, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and former NFL QB Chase Daniel. He recounted a conversation with head coach Kevin O’Connell, who had assured Cousins that the team wouldn’t draft a quarterback with their high first-round pick if he signed the offered deal.

“Even if he says that, I’m not going to hold him to that,” Cousins explained. “His approach was ‘I just don’t see us doing that if you’re back, you know if you’re not back then we have to.’”

This led to discussions about potentially restructuring the contract to align with both parties’ interests.

He added that the prospect of continuing with Minnesota on a series of one-year deals didn’t feel like the right choice for his career as he said “I had to be realistic.”

And despite the business-driven decision to leave, Cousins was very vocal about the fact that he would never downplay his positive experiences with the Vikings.