QB Kirk Cousins, ATL (4 Viewers)

[TheWinz]

At this point, what are the options for Cousins? What leverage does he hold if he wants out of Atlanta?

 

[Gally]

You’re presenting it like he didn’t want to be on the tag. He very much did. Pretty much insisted on it.

He insisted on it because they were low balling him on the long term contract. It was really his only option. That doesn't mean he wasn't risking/sacrificing anything. He was betting on himself for sure (and won) but that is different than not sacrificing anything.

He very well could have taken a lower long term contract and avoided the risk of the franchise tag but he didn't.

 

[JohnnyU]

At this point, what are the options for Cousins? What leverage does he hold if he wants out of Atlanta?

He signed a 4 year $180 million contract. He's not in a position of leverage. He has two main options with the Atlanta Falcons: remain as a backup to Michael Penix Jr. or be traded to another team. A trade would require Cousins to waive his no-trade clause, and the Falcons would need to find a suitable trade partner willing to meet their compensation demands. The Falcons are also comfortable with him as a backup, and a trade might not be their priority.

In other words, play nice and wait. Who knows, maybe something opens up for a QB needy team. He may have to ditch the no-trade clause however.

 

[wgoldsph]

Kirk Cousins felt 'misled' after Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those Washington teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to Vikings and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the Falcons doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways. Kirk needs to STFU.

Players go for the highest dollar value or for winning a championship (more money during the playoffs along with the prestige). Cousins trying to secure a long term contract is a totally normal thing for any player to do. Washington hitting him with the tag repeatedly didn't give him that "generational wealth" you talk about (especially not by today's standards). Like everyone else at his position he wanted to get paid.

And he shut up when he got a contract he wanted. If he complained in Minn I don't remember it. So you've got the start of his career where the team that drafted him wouldn't extend him at his price or trade him putting the tag on him repeatedly, something I don't believe has happened to any QB in the past 30 years which he didn't like. Then the middle of his career where he got the contract he wanted...Crickets. Then the end of his career the team that signed him didn't tell him they planned to grab a QB in the first and he was obviously upset about that.

Sounds like you just don't like the dude to me.

Side question - how do you feel about Eli Manning? I'm genuinely interested to see if there's a difference between your take on the two.

Bro you need to reread what I wrote and then probably do it a couple more times, because nothing you just said address my comments.

I have no problem whatsoever with how he’s handled negotiations throughout his career. I am very pro-player. Game is brutal, they should fight for every dollar. And he never was a squeaky wheel in Washington or Minnesota. This would be that “aw shucks” I mentioned. He knows how to present himself in the media.

I’m a Wash fan, extremely aware of the back and forth in his negotiations and tags. We low balled him, he called our bluff, then he used the upper hand to leverage into two huge cash years on the tag and a massive contract in Minnesota. He shows up as 6th all time in career earnings anywhere I check and pretty sure will be 3rd after this season. And that’s fine, good for him. I’m not bitter he left Wash either. We mismanaged him just as much as he worked us.

*the whole point* is if you do all of that ^, and a franchise signs you, pays you a **** load more$$, then decides they want to draft a guy to replace you the next day, you gotta shut up about it. I don’t want to hear one single word. Just shut the **** up while the leopards eat your face because you’ve been the leopard your whole life.

So basically every NFL player should shut up if something happens they don't like?

He's a leopard because players are empowered, but when he finds himself blindsided he should become a lamb. I'm genuinely not following this logical train.

I think what bothers me the most is it's a valid comment on his situation and not in any shape or form critical of the player. This is what I want to hear from a QB who wants to start games. He wants to start, he doesn't like it when he isn't, but it's the team and not the guy replacing him.

Just what is the problem here?

It’s a pretty simple concept. Turnabout is fair play. If you treat teams as commodities your whole career, you don’t get to whine about it when they do the same to you.

Shoes and feet
Turnabout
Golden rule
Rocks and glass houses
Pots and kettles

There’s a lot of sayings for this and they all mean the same thing.

So why Cousins and not every player? He's not the only one that held the screws to his team. Should every player just shut up whenever the team completely blindsided them?

"Oh no, it's totally cool they told me I'd start and then drafted someone in the first"

He's a human being. Let the man feel.

 

[Da Franchise]

You’re presenting it like he didn’t want to be on the tag. He very much did. Pretty much insisted on it.

He insisted on it because they were low balling him on the long term contract. It was really his only option. That doesn't mean he wasn't risking/sacrificing anything. He was betting on himself for sure (and won) but that is different than not sacrificing anything.

He very well could have taken a lower long term contract and avoided the risk of the franchise tag but he didn't.

They lowballed him initially as I said above but there were many twists and turns during that process. Anyway I’m not going to relive the Cousins negotiations. Bottom line is he’s only ever prioritized himself. Can’t catch feelings when a team does the same thing back to you.

 

[Da Franchise]

Kirk Cousins felt 'misled' after Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those Washington teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to Vikings and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the Falcons doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways. Kirk needs to STFU.

Players go for the highest dollar value or for winning a championship (more money during the playoffs along with the prestige). Cousins trying to secure a long term contract is a totally normal thing for any player to do. Washington hitting him with the tag repeatedly didn't give him that "generational wealth" you talk about (especially not by today's standards). Like everyone else at his position he wanted to get paid.

And he shut up when he got a contract he wanted. If he complained in Minn I don't remember it. So you've got the start of his career where the team that drafted him wouldn't extend him at his price or trade him putting the tag on him repeatedly, something I don't believe has happened to any QB in the past 30 years which he didn't like. Then the middle of his career where he got the contract he wanted...Crickets. Then the end of his career the team that signed him didn't tell him they planned to grab a QB in the first and he was obviously upset about that.

Sounds like you just don't like the dude to me.

Side question - how do you feel about Eli Manning? I'm genuinely interested to see if there's a difference between your take on the two.

Bro you need to reread what I wrote and then probably do it a couple more times, because nothing you just said address my comments.

I have no problem whatsoever with how he’s handled negotiations throughout his career. I am very pro-player. Game is brutal, they should fight for every dollar. And he never was a squeaky wheel in Washington or Minnesota. This would be that “aw shucks” I mentioned. He knows how to present himself in the media.

I’m a Wash fan, extremely aware of the back and forth in his negotiations and tags. We low balled him, he called our bluff, then he used the upper hand to leverage into two huge cash years on the tag and a massive contract in Minnesota. He shows up as 6th all time in career earnings anywhere I check and pretty sure will be 3rd after this season. And that’s fine, good for him. I’m not bitter he left Wash either. We mismanaged him just as much as he worked us.

*the whole point* is if you do all of that ^, and a franchise signs you, pays you a **** load more$$, then decides they want to draft a guy to replace you the next day, you gotta shut up about it. I don’t want to hear one single word. Just shut the **** up while the leopards eat your face because you’ve been the leopard your whole life.

So basically every NFL player should shut up if something happens they don't like?

He's a leopard because players are empowered, but when he finds himself blindsided he should become a lamb. I'm genuinely not following this logical train.

I think what bothers me the most is it's a valid comment on his situation and not in any shape or form critical of the player. This is what I want to hear from a QB who wants to start games. He wants to start, he doesn't like it when he isn't, but it's the team and not the guy replacing him.

Just what is the problem here?

It’s a pretty simple concept. Turnabout is fair play. If you treat teams as commodities your whole career, you don’t get to whine about it when they do the same to you.

Shoes and feet
Turnabout
Golden rule
Rocks and glass houses
Pots and kettles

There’s a lot of sayings for this and they all mean the same thing.

So why Cousins and not every player? He's not the only one that held the screws to his team. Should every player just shut up whenever the team completely blindsided them?

"Oh no, it's totally cool they told me I'd start and then drafted someone in the first"

He's a human being. Let the man feel.

Somewhere Don Draper is yelling “That’s what the money’s for”.

Cousins is really in a league of his own when it comes to contract negotiations. There are no comps. 6th highest earner ever. 1 playoff win. Dug heels to play on bag to back tags. Secured first ever fully guaranteed contract. Two big time extensions. Now all the Falcons stuff. My take is not transferable to any other player because there’s never been a comparable situation.

 

[wgoldsph]

Kirk Cousins felt 'misled' after Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those Washington teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to Vikings and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the Falcons doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways. Kirk needs to STFU.

Players go for the highest dollar value or for winning a championship (more money during the playoffs along with the prestige). Cousins trying to secure a long term contract is a totally normal thing for any player to do. Washington hitting him with the tag repeatedly didn't give him that "generational wealth" you talk about (especially not by today's standards). Like everyone else at his position he wanted to get paid.

And he shut up when he got a contract he wanted. If he complained in Minn I don't remember it. So you've got the start of his career where the team that drafted him wouldn't extend him at his price or trade him putting the tag on him repeatedly, something I don't believe has happened to any QB in the past 30 years which he didn't like. Then the middle of his career where he got the contract he wanted...Crickets. Then the end of his career the team that signed him didn't tell him they planned to grab a QB in the first and he was obviously upset about that.

Sounds like you just don't like the dude to me.

Side question - how do you feel about Eli Manning? I'm genuinely interested to see if there's a difference between your take on the two.

Bro you need to reread what I wrote and then probably do it a couple more times, because nothing you just said address my comments.

I have no problem whatsoever with how he’s handled negotiations throughout his career. I am very pro-player. Game is brutal, they should fight for every dollar. And he never was a squeaky wheel in Washington or Minnesota. This would be that “aw shucks” I mentioned. He knows how to present himself in the media.

I’m a Wash fan, extremely aware of the back and forth in his negotiations and tags. We low balled him, he called our bluff, then he used the upper hand to leverage into two huge cash years on the tag and a massive contract in Minnesota. He shows up as 6th all time in career earnings anywhere I check and pretty sure will be 3rd after this season. And that’s fine, good for him. I’m not bitter he left Wash either. We mismanaged him just as much as he worked us.

*the whole point* is if you do all of that ^, and a franchise signs you, pays you a **** load more$$, then decides they want to draft a guy to replace you the next day, you gotta shut up about it. I don’t want to hear one single word. Just shut the **** up while the leopards eat your face because you’ve been the leopard your whole life.

So basically every NFL player should shut up if something happens they don't like?

He's a leopard because players are empowered, but when he finds himself blindsided he should become a lamb. I'm genuinely not following this logical train.

I think what bothers me the most is it's a valid comment on his situation and not in any shape or form critical of the player. This is what I want to hear from a QB who wants to start games. He wants to start, he doesn't like it when he isn't, but it's the team and not the guy replacing him.

Just what is the problem here?

It’s a pretty simple concept. Turnabout is fair play. If you treat teams as commodities your whole career, you don’t get to whine about it when they do the same to you.

Shoes and feet
Turnabout
Golden rule
Rocks and glass houses
Pots and kettles

There’s a lot of sayings for this and they all mean the same thing.

So why Cousins and not every player? He's not the only one that held the screws to his team. Should every player just shut up whenever the team completely blindsided them?

"Oh no, it's totally cool they told me I'd start and then drafted someone in the first"

He's a human being. Let the man feel.

Somewhere Don Draper is yelling “That’s what the money’s for”.

Cousins is really in a league of his own when it comes to contract negotiations. There are no comps. 6th highest earner ever. 1 playoff win. Dug heels to play on bag to back tags. Secured first ever fully guaranteed contract. Two big time extensions. Now all the Falcons stuff. My take is not transferable to any other player because there’s never been a comparable situation.

The fact that you think what he did is in any way different than what the agents of every other player is doing shows that this is weirdly personal and not at all aware of how business works in the NFL.

Honestly? I'm impressed by his ability to milk his career for all it's worth and I support his ability to turn a mediocre player into one of the best paid all time. Gotta admire the hustle.

 

[Da Franchise]

Kirk Cousins felt 'misled' after Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those Washington teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to Vikings and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the Falcons doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways. Kirk needs to STFU.

Players go for the highest dollar value or for winning a championship (more money during the playoffs along with the prestige). Cousins trying to secure a long term contract is a totally normal thing for any player to do. Washington hitting him with the tag repeatedly didn't give him that "generational wealth" you talk about (especially not by today's standards). Like everyone else at his position he wanted to get paid.

And he shut up when he got a contract he wanted. If he complained in Minn I don't remember it. So you've got the start of his career where the team that drafted him wouldn't extend him at his price or trade him putting the tag on him repeatedly, something I don't believe has happened to any QB in the past 30 years which he didn't like. Then the middle of his career where he got the contract he wanted...Crickets. Then the end of his career the team that signed him didn't tell him they planned to grab a QB in the first and he was obviously upset about that.

Sounds like you just don't like the dude to me.

Side question - how do you feel about Eli Manning? I'm genuinely interested to see if there's a difference between your take on the two.

Bro you need to reread what I wrote and then probably do it a couple more times, because nothing you just said address my comments.

I have no problem whatsoever with how he’s handled negotiations throughout his career. I am very pro-player. Game is brutal, they should fight for every dollar. And he never was a squeaky wheel in Washington or Minnesota. This would be that “aw shucks” I mentioned. He knows how to present himself in the media.

I’m a Wash fan, extremely aware of the back and forth in his negotiations and tags. We low balled him, he called our bluff, then he used the upper hand to leverage into two huge cash years on the tag and a massive contract in Minnesota. He shows up as 6th all time in career earnings anywhere I check and pretty sure will be 3rd after this season. And that’s fine, good for him. I’m not bitter he left Wash either. We mismanaged him just as much as he worked us.

*the whole point* is if you do all of that ^, and a franchise signs you, pays you a **** load more$$, then decides they want to draft a guy to replace you the next day, you gotta shut up about it. I don’t want to hear one single word. Just shut the **** up while the leopards eat your face because you’ve been the leopard your whole life.

So basically every NFL player should shut up if something happens they don't like?

He's a leopard because players are empowered, but when he finds himself blindsided he should become a lamb. I'm genuinely not following this logical train.

I think what bothers me the most is it's a valid comment on his situation and not in any shape or form critical of the player. This is what I want to hear from a QB who wants to start games. He wants to start, he doesn't like it when he isn't, but it's the team and not the guy replacing him.

Just what is the problem here?

It’s a pretty simple concept. Turnabout is fair play. If you treat teams as commodities your whole career, you don’t get to whine about it when they do the same to you.

Shoes and feet
Turnabout
Golden rule
Rocks and glass houses
Pots and kettles

There’s a lot of sayings for this and they all mean the same thing.

So why Cousins and not every player? He's not the only one that held the screws to his team. Should every player just shut up whenever the team completely blindsided them?

"Oh no, it's totally cool they told me I'd start and then drafted someone in the first"

He's a human being. Let the man feel.

Somewhere Don Draper is yelling “That’s what the money’s for”.

Cousins is really in a league of his own when it comes to contract negotiations. There are no comps. 6th highest earner ever. 1 playoff win. Dug heels to play on bag to back tags. Secured first ever fully guaranteed contract. Two big time extensions. Now all the Falcons stuff. My take is not transferable to any other player because there’s never been a comparable situation.

The fact that you think what he did is in any way different than what the agents of every other player is doing shows that this is weirdly personal and not at all aware of how business works in the NFL.

Honestly? I'm impressed by his ability to milk his career for all it's worth and I support his ability to turn a mediocre player into one of the best paid all time. Gotta admire the hustle.

At no point in this back and forth have you successfully understood what I’m saying. No worries. Just going to leave it at that.

 

[TheDirtyWord]

Kirk Cousins
felt 'misled' after
Falcons
drafted
Michael Penix
Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those
Washington
teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to
Vikings
and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the
Falcons
doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways.
Kirk
needs to STFU.

I actually disagree 100% here.

He's actually been the one player I can remember who embraced the franchise tag. If I'm not mistaken, he played on it twice in WAS which afforded him a 'no strings attached' situation from a FA when he finally left for MIN. And he did this on a 4th round rookie contract - not a 1st rounder. That doesn't feel like 'demanding every single red cent'...it actually feels pretty admirable insofar as betting on himself while playing the system (that largely favors the owners) to great advantage while at great risk to his long term financial future.

He's never held out...he's just tried to look out for the best situation for him/his family. My guess is that the 'misled' statement reflected more of a 'if I knew then what I know now' sentiment...and the process he went through likely prioritized security when he was a FA. As soon as
Penix
was drafted, he had none. And less than he would have had in MIN.

Consider that when the
Packers
drafted
Rodgers
in 2005...Favre's final 6 games of that season produced the following line:

2-4 record; 113/229 1338 2/12

Honestly, that's Nathan Peterman level play, but
Rodgers
doesn't start for two more years. Obviously
Cousins
' leash was much shorter.

What you’re missing is that playing on the tag wasn’t a sacrifice, it was leverage he used to force his way out and hit free agency. He wouldn’t work on a contract extension specifically for that reason. Which again, zero problem with that, good for him. Then he squeezed a fully guaranteed contract out of the
Vikings
, the first one of those the NFL ever gave a player. Then he squeezed them twice more with contract extensions, extracting every dollar possible each time. Which again, good for him on all of that.

I don’t care if he holds out or not, or negotiates in bad faith, or uses every ounce of leverage to get as much money as possible. Just that when the tables turn, and a team treats you like a commodity, you don’t get to whine about.

So Cousins not signing with WAS wasn't because they kept low balling him in contract negotiations?

...or this re-telling?

And then in the post-mortem, the GM referred to him as Kurt. It was 'Kurt' treating WAS like a commodity?

 

[Da Franchise]

Kirk Cousins
felt 'misled' after
Falcons
drafted
Michael Penix
Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those
Washington
teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to
Vikings
and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the
Falcons
doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways.
Kirk
needs to STFU.

I actually disagree 100% here.

He's actually been the one player I can remember who embraced the franchise tag. If I'm not mistaken, he played on it twice in WAS which afforded him a 'no strings attached' situation from a FA when he finally left for MIN. And he did this on a 4th round rookie contract - not a 1st rounder. That doesn't feel like 'demanding every single red cent'...it actually feels pretty admirable insofar as betting on himself while playing the system (that largely favors the owners) to great advantage while at great risk to his long term financial future.

He's never held out...he's just tried to look out for the best situation for him/his family. My guess is that the 'misled' statement reflected more of a 'if I knew then what I know now' sentiment...and the process he went through likely prioritized security when he was a FA. As soon as
Penix
was drafted, he had none. And less than he would have had in MIN.

Consider that when the
Packers
drafted
Rodgers
in 2005...Favre's final 6 games of that season produced the following line:

2-4 record; 113/229 1338 2/12

Honestly, that's Nathan Peterman level play, but
Rodgers
doesn't start for two more years. Obviously
Cousins
' leash was much shorter.

What you’re missing is that playing on the tag wasn’t a sacrifice, it was leverage he used to force his way out and hit free agency. He wouldn’t work on a contract extension specifically for that reason. Which again, zero problem with that, good for him. Then he squeezed a fully guaranteed contract out of the
Vikings
, the first one of those the NFL ever gave a player. Then he squeezed them twice more with contract extensions, extracting every dollar possible each time. Which again, good for him on all of that.

I don’t care if he holds out or not, or negotiates in bad faith, or uses every ounce of leverage to get as much money as possible. Just that when the tables turn, and a team treats you like a commodity, you don’t get to whine about.

So Cousins not signing with WAS wasn't because they kept low balling him in contract negotiations?

...or this re-telling?

And then in the post-mortem, the GM referred to him as Kurt. It was 'Kurt' treating WAS like a commodity?

I appreciate this thread for reminding me why I stopped posting on message boards.

 

[wgoldsph]

Kirk Cousins felt 'misled' after Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those Washington teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to Vikings and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the Falcons doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways. Kirk needs to STFU.

Players go for the highest dollar value or for winning a championship (more money during the playoffs along with the prestige). Cousins trying to secure a long term contract is a totally normal thing for any player to do. Washington hitting him with the tag repeatedly didn't give him that "generational wealth" you talk about (especially not by today's standards). Like everyone else at his position he wanted to get paid.

And he shut up when he got a contract he wanted. If he complained in Minn I don't remember it. So you've got the start of his career where the team that drafted him wouldn't extend him at his price or trade him putting the tag on him repeatedly, something I don't believe has happened to any QB in the past 30 years which he didn't like. Then the middle of his career where he got the contract he wanted...Crickets. Then the end of his career the team that signed him didn't tell him they planned to grab a QB in the first and he was obviously upset about that.

Sounds like you just don't like the dude to me.

Side question - how do you feel about Eli Manning? I'm genuinely interested to see if there's a difference between your take on the two.

Bro you need to reread what I wrote and then probably do it a couple more times, because nothing you just said address my comments.

I have no problem whatsoever with how he’s handled negotiations throughout his career. I am very pro-player. Game is brutal, they should fight for every dollar. And he never was a squeaky wheel in Washington or Minnesota. This would be that “aw shucks” I mentioned. He knows how to present himself in the media.

I’m a Wash fan, extremely aware of the back and forth in his negotiations and tags. We low balled him, he called our bluff, then he used the upper hand to leverage into two huge cash years on the tag and a massive contract in Minnesota. He shows up as 6th all time in career earnings anywhere I check and pretty sure will be 3rd after this season. And that’s fine, good for him. I’m not bitter he left Wash either. We mismanaged him just as much as he worked us.

*the whole point* is if you do all of that ^, and a franchise signs you, pays you a **** load more$$, then decides they want to draft a guy to replace you the next day, you gotta shut up about it. I don’t want to hear one single word. Just shut the **** up while the leopards eat your face because you’ve been the leopard your whole life.

So basically every NFL player should shut up if something happens they don't like?

He's a leopard because players are empowered, but when he finds himself blindsided he should become a lamb. I'm genuinely not following this logical train.

I think what bothers me the most is it's a valid comment on his situation and not in any shape or form critical of the player. This is what I want to hear from a QB who wants to start games. He wants to start, he doesn't like it when he isn't, but it's the team and not the guy replacing him.

Just what is the problem here?

It’s a pretty simple concept. Turnabout is fair play. If you treat teams as commodities your whole career, you don’t get to whine about it when they do the same to you.

Shoes and feet
Turnabout
Golden rule
Rocks and glass houses
Pots and kettles

There’s a lot of sayings for this and they all mean the same thing.

So why Cousins and not every player? He's not the only one that held the screws to his team. Should every player just shut up whenever the team completely blindsided them?

"Oh no, it's totally cool they told me I'd start and then drafted someone in the first"

He's a human being. Let the man feel.

Somewhere Don Draper is yelling “That’s what the money’s for”.

Cousins is really in a league of his own when it comes to contract negotiations. There are no comps. 6th highest earner ever. 1 playoff win. Dug heels to play on bag to back tags. Secured first ever fully guaranteed contract. Two big time extensions. Now all the Falcons stuff. My take is not transferable to any other player because there’s never been a comparable situation.

The fact that you think what he did is in any way different than what the agents of every other player is doing shows that this is weirdly personal and not at all aware of how business works in the NFL.

Honestly? I'm impressed by his ability to milk his career for all it's worth and I support his ability to turn a mediocre player into one of the best paid all time. Gotta admire the hustle.

At no point in this back and forth have you successfully understood what I’m saying. No worries. Just going to leave it at that.

At no point in this back and forth have you successfully made a point. I'm genuinely curious how this is a unique case and why you think that.

Seriously, you're saying Cousins is different without providing anything but radio personalities griping about him. I live in Philly... Radio hosts blast the team and players constantly. So no, your lack of evidence as to why Cousins is different than the other hundreds of players I've heard a radio personality say was being selfish is not getting through.

Give me a least one difference between him and anyone else and you might finally make a point.

 

[wgoldsph]

Kirk Cousins
felt 'misled' after
Falcons
drafted
Michael Penix
Jr.

I understand he's a competitor beyond what we can comprehend, but he sure complains a lot for a guy who has multigenerational wealth whereby even his grandkids (and perhaps beyond) are probably set up for life financially.

Wut? When?

Dudes career was him getting one year extensions after being drafted behind the new GOAT RG3 and managing to keep those
Washington
teams competitive. Name me one other player treated like he was by Wash. Then get goes to
Vikings
and I don't remember any complaints out of him. Then he signs a huge contract without being told the teams plans and he says he was "mislead" and suddenly he's complaining a lot?

Just an awful take.

Your take is just as awful. This guy has demanded every single red cent in every situation throughout his entire career. He has done it in an aw shucks kind of way and therefore avoided a lot of criticism, but if you ignore his comments and focus on his actions, you won’t find a more selfish player in terms of how they handle their business.

And you know what? That is all completely fine. Got no problem with guys getting paid. Not at all. But it’s a double edged sword and you don’t get to conduct your business the way he has his whole career and then turn around and cry about the
Falcons
doing whatever they think is best for their franchise.

Door swings both ways.
Kirk
needs to STFU.

I actually disagree 100% here.

He's actually been the one player I can remember who embraced the franchise tag. If I'm not mistaken, he played on it twice in WAS which afforded him a 'no strings attached' situation from a FA when he finally left for MIN. And he did this on a 4th round rookie contract - not a 1st rounder. That doesn't feel like 'demanding every single red cent'...it actually feels pretty admirable insofar as betting on himself while playing the system (that largely favors the owners) to great advantage while at great risk to his long term financial future.

He's never held out...he's just tried to look out for the best situation for him/his family. My guess is that the 'misled' statement reflected more of a 'if I knew then what I know now' sentiment...and the process he went through likely prioritized security when he was a FA. As soon as
Penix
was drafted, he had none. And less than he would have had in MIN.

Consider that when the
Packers
drafted
Rodgers
in 2005...Favre's final 6 games of that season produced the following line:

2-4 record; 113/229 1338 2/12

Honestly, that's Nathan Peterman level play, but
Rodgers
doesn't start for two more years. Obviously
Cousins
' leash was much shorter.

What you’re missing is that playing on the tag wasn’t a sacrifice, it was leverage he used to force his way out and hit free agency. He wouldn’t work on a contract extension specifically for that reason. Which again, zero problem with that, good for him. Then he squeezed a fully guaranteed contract out of the
Vikings
, the first one of those the NFL ever gave a player. Then he squeezed them twice more with contract extensions, extracting every dollar possible each time. Which again, good for him on all of that.

I don’t care if he holds out or not, or negotiates in bad faith, or uses every ounce of leverage to get as much money as possible. Just that when the tables turn, and a team treats you like a commodity, you don’t get to whine about.

So Cousins not signing with WAS wasn't because they kept low balling him in contract negotiations?

...or this re-telling?

And then in the post-mortem, the GM referred to him as Kurt. It was 'Kurt' treating WAS like a commodity?

I appreciate this thread for reminding me why I stopped posting on message boards.

Because people can refute you with evidence? Because this right here proves your only point is WRONG (in his voice)

 

[Faust]

Netflix's 'Quarterback' series showcases a Kirk Cousins who is longing to return to the Vikings

 

[JohnnyU]

Netflix's 'Quarterback' series showcases a Kirk Cousins who is longing to return to the Vikings

Why? He must like being a backup.