ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Atlanta Falcons had options to explore this offseason with regards to finding a franchise quarterback, and they had a clear Plan-A.
"Kirk (Cousins) was certainly a high priority for us," coach Raheem Morris said Tuesday at the NFL annual meeting. "He was one of those things that we wanted to go out there and try to establish pretty early.
"It was huge for us -- gives us the best chance to win football games and go out there and compete every single weekend."
The Falcons signed the former Minnesota Vikings QB to a four-year, $180 million contract with a $50,000,000 signing bonus on March 11. His cap hit in 2024 will be $25 million.
Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot painted Cousins as the quarterback they needed to set the tone for the rest of the offseason. The team subsequently signed wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud, blocking tight end Charlie Woerner, and traded former starting quarterback Desmond Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals for wideout Rondale Moore, giving the team a new look -- and some needed depth -- on offense.
"That's why you have to be aggressive right away, early on," Fontenot said of snagging Cousins on Day One of the free agent period. "Try to get that done as soon as you can, because that's a critical part."
Morris was blunt last month at the NFL combine, saying he wouldn't have even been on the podium speaking to the media as the Falcons coach if the team's quarterback play -- a combination of Ridder and Taylor Heinicke -- had been better in 2023. Falcons owner Arthur Blank described the team's effectiveness from the position as "deficient" and former coach Arthur Smith was fired after the season.
Whether Cousins can transform the position from deficient to efficient will partly depend on how well the 35-year-old can return from the torn right Achilles he suffered eight games into last season. Blank said Tuesday on ESPN that Cousins' injury was the "most serious" he's ever had, but the QB is "exactly where he should be based on what the surgeons say, what the doctors say."
Cousins completed 69.5% of his passes with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions before the injury last season. Falcons quarterbacks, mostly Ridder and Heinicke, completed 61.7% of their passes for 17 touchdowns and 17 interceptions last season. Heinicke will remain on the team as a backup in 2024 and compete for the No. 2 spot, Morris said.
Morris has a history with Cousins. He was a defensive backs coach in Washington from 2012 to 2014 when Cousins played for the franchise. Cousins also played most recently for the Vikings under coach Kevin O'Connell, who is part of the same Sean McVay coaching tree as Morris. O'Connell was McVay's offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams and Morris was the defensive coordinator.
"When you can go get an established guy that is going through some of those bruises, those bumps -- and [I] actually got a chance to visually see it in D.C. -- I mean, you can't pass that up," Morris said.
Cousins will be the linchpin of an offense featuring young, skill-position players, including running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. All of them were drafted by Atlanta since 2021.
The Falcons were willing to explore other avenues to get a quarterback, everything from free agency to a trade to a trade up in the draft. But ultimately, in getting Cousins quickly, the rest of the offseason has fallen into place, especially on offense.
"It could have went completely other ways," Fontenot said. "If we don't get Kirk and we pivot in this area, it changes a lot of things. So many different scenarios. But we're very excited about this one."