GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Kirk Cousins is the new quarterback in town for the Atlanta Falcons, but the area has been something of a second home for him over the years.
Cousins' wife, Julie, is from nearly Alpharetta, and graduated from the University of Georgia. They got married in Roswell. The Cousins' named one of their sons Turner after the then-Atlanta Braves ballpark (which was named after media mogul Ted Turner). And Julie's family happens to be made up of diehard Falcons fans.
When Atlanta faced the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston, Cousins got his father-in-law, Michael, tickets to the game. Cousins watched from home -- and was rooting hard for the Falcons. He had former teammates who played with the team and friends on the coaching staff. Plus, an emotional Michael in the stands.
The Patriots ended up winning, 34-28, after Atlanta infamously blew a 28-3 lead. It was the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, and the Falcons' fanbase was devastated. So was Cousins.
Cousins was playing for Washington at the time and said he never really considered one day he'd play in Atlanta. The 13-year veteran signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in the offseason. He has not forgotten what that loss felt like seven years ago, even as an outsider, and what it could mean to do something that has never been seen before in Atlanta: the Falcons winning the Super Bowl.
"To really not have a dog in the fight [while] playing for Washington, and to be as crushed as I was after they lost, I can only imagine what the city felt," Cousins told ESPN. "And yes, I do think that to cross that finish line would be beyond gratifying. It may mean a little more than what it means to maybe other cities, and to other cities it would mean a lot."
Cousins is taking his role as Falcons quarterback very seriously. He has worked hard to rehab a torn Achilles that prematurely ended his 2023 season to be healthy in time for a full, successful training camp. Off the field, he has put his money where his mouth is in the community.
Last week, Cousins hosted a group of children from a local Boys & Girls Club at a Falcons practice and he traveled to the club afterward to surprise the kids, serve them pizza and give the older ones a seminar in financial literacy. It was all part of Truist Bank's "Beyond the Field" program.
"I believe we have a platform that many people don't have," Cousins said. "There are many people who have resources that don't have the platform that a professional athlete has. And so, I want to steward that well and use it to make a positive impact on the community, but specifically young people because of the impact they then can have paying it forward. So, it's a privilege, but also a responsibility to get involved.
"You feel like you're representing a lot more than just the name on the back of your jersey, your family for sure. You're representing an entire city, and you want to make good on that. And not everybody gets to go to a job that represents the whole city on the front of their shirt."
Training camp has come to an end and Cousins will be wearing "ATL" on his jersey in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 8. Expectations are high in Atlanta after the signing of Cousins, as well as other additions such as edge rusher Matthew Judon and safety Justin Simmons, both former Pro Bowlers.
New coach Raheem Morris credited Cousins' presence with attracting players to Atlanta when other options might have been available to them. Having a quarterback like Cousins, with a proven track record, can change the culture.
"When you go get a guy like Kirk, people want to play with him, right?" Morris said. "Because they feel they have a chance to win. And when you have a chance to win, that allows company to come, that allows people to want to come play with them."
Morris has a team favored to win the NFC South, according to ESPN BET, and one that sold out its season tickets prior to training camp for the first time in 20 years.
Cousins has stepped up as a leader, as well. He has spent time after practices this summer working with the likes of promising young wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts, as well as wide receiver Darnell Mooney, another new addition to the team this year. London has said the vibes in Atlanta feel "different" with Cousins as the team's signal-caller.
"I felt what it's like to be with a QB of that caliber and being able to go out there and kind of do what I, what I know I can do," London said. "So now, I've seen it. I've felt it. So now, it's a consistency thing."
Cousins, 36, said it's hard to judge how good Atlanta can be just from practice. When the offense is playing well, could that be an indictment of the defense? If the defense is getting stops and takeaways, what does that say about the offense? But he has been in the league a long time, and he has a certain feel for things.
"I look around here in training camp, and I think we have a chance is basically the language I would use," Cousins said. "We have a chance, we have the pieces that give us a chance to do something, and now we gotta go see if we can do it."
Morris was on the coaching staff of the Falcons team that lost in the Super Bowl. He was also a defensive assistant in Washington when Cousins was there early in Cousins' career. There is familiarity there, as well as indirectly with new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who is a disciple of Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, as was Kevin O'Connell, Cousins' former coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
Cousins said O'Connell told him that Robinson "always had good suggestions when it came time to bring up some new ideas or some X's and O's points." And Morris has been the only defensive coach Cousins has seen who would spend time in the quarterbacks room, learning the language of that position.
"There's a lot of coaches who don't take the time to be able to do that," Cousins said. "But he did. And I think it is part of what enabled him to really learn both sides of the ball so quickly."
Cousins said he was speaking to a Hall of Fame quarterback after he signed with the Falcons, and the player -- whom he chose not to identify -- told him that when he was a free agent years ago he thought of what it would be like to go to a city where, if you won, "it would really be special and really come alive."
"I think Atlanta is that city for you," Cousins said the QB told him.
Cousins said he harkens to that Super Bowl LI loss and remembers the line from the movie "Miracle" when they talked about how Herb Brooks came so close to winning the Olympic gold medal as a player but didn't get it. "And then as a coach, they were saying he was going to do whatever it took because he knew how close," Cousins said. "And I think there's some of that in the way we work. It's an understanding of how close the Falcons have been to not get it, and how [we can leave] no stone unturned. We've got to do everything we can."