Would Kirk Cousins be with the Falcons if he was never injured?

Here is an interesting question: Would Kirk Cousins have landed with the Atlanta Falcons if he hadn't gone down with an unfortunate Achilles injury?

Let's look at the different factors and see whether or not the signing would have happened if he had continued his torrid pace as the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings.

Would Kirk Cousins be in Atlanta without his Achilles injury?

Kirk Cousins moved on from the Minnesota Vikings this offseason and signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. It is a big, but misleading, contract for a rehabbing QB.

Last year, in week eight against the Green Bay Packers, Cousins dropped back and like we see way too often, his Achilles gave out. His season ended just like that and it ended up being the end to his tenure with the Vikings.

At that point, Cousins was lighting the NFL up. In what was essentially eight games, Cousins had completed nearly 70% of his passes for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Those numbers landed him squarely in the MVP talks.

Those numbers are the biggest factor to consider when answering this question. Cousins was already annoyed with the Vikings' unwillingness to commit to him for more than a couple of years which is the reason his contract expired.

If Kirk had kept up that pace and finished the year healthy, I don't think the Vikings would have had a choice but to extend the quarterback or, at least, give in to some of his contract demands.

The injury gave them some time to think about what life would be like without their veteran. There is some psychology that goes into this—the longer something is out of sight, the easier it becomes to move on.

Certainly, the Achilles injury wasn't the only reason the Vikings wouldn't match the Falcons' offer to Cousins but how could they have justified letting him walk to another NFC team if he had put up MVP-type numbers?

The Packers held onto Aaron Rodgers longer than planned because of how he played—this is a similar idea.

I do not believe the Falcons would have Cousins if he had finished the season healthy. You also have to ask yourself, how much more would his contract have been worth? That is another question we could focus on.