The Atlanta Falcons were in pretty dire need at the quarterback position this offseason and filled that void with top veteran free agent Kirk Cousins. But as one analyst points out, they could have tried to land an even better long-term option at the position last offseason.
When the Baltimore Ravens placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson last season, allowing him to negotiate with other teams, the Falcons chose not to make an offer to the 26-year-old quarterback who ultimately won the NFL MVP Award in a landslide last season. And CBS Sports analyst Shehan Jeyarajah thinks that was a mistake.
“I just realized that the Falcons passed on paying 26-year-old Lamar Jackson $200 million over four years so they could pay 36-year-old Achilles tear Kirk Cousins $180 million instead,” Jeyarajah said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
Falcons fans in my mentions: "We would have never been able to land him! We would have just been wasting our time!"
You used your excess time to start Desmond Ridder and sign Kirk Cousins instead of trying to land an MVP in his prime? Wasn't even worth trying??
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) March 11, 2024
Jeyarajah was quick to respond to a common response to his criticism.
“Falcons fans in my mentions: ‘We would have never been able to land him! We would have just been wasting our time!’ You used your excess time to start Desmond Ridder and sign Kirk Cousins instead of trying to land an MVP in his prime? Wasn’t even worth trying??” Jeyarajah said in a follow-up post.
There’s no guarantee that the Falcons could have actually landed Jackson, but it’s pretty clear that they should have at least tried.
