ESPN REPORT: ATLANTA FALCON YOUNG STAR WHO SUFFERED INJURY HAS JUST BEEN CONFIRMED…

The Minnesota Vikings decided to let Kirk Cousins walk because keeping him in purple and gold would have been too expensive, but the resulting cost could be even higher.

The $180 million contract ($45 million annually) Cousins received from the Atlanta Falcons, which included $100 million guaranteed, isn’t a wild investment to make in a quarterback in the contemporary NFL — at least not in a general sense. However, Cousins will play next season at 36 years old and is coming off of an Achilles tear that represents the worst injury of his 12-year career.

Beyond that, his price-to-production ratio was a far cry from great during his six-year tenure in Minnesota. Cousins earned three Pro Bowl nods across that span and regularly put up borderline spectacular regular-season numbers, but the Vikings made the playoffs only twice and amassed a 1-2 postseason record over those two trips.

Cousins’ questionable value is what general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah avoided by allowing the QB to walk in free agency, and it’s what led Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report to characterize Cousins’ deal with the Falcons as the “riskiest contract in free agency” on Friday, March 29: