Kirk Cousins felt 'a little bit misled' when Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr.
' I don't really deal in hypotheticals,' Cousins said at the time.
In the first episode of his second turn on the Quarterback series, he did.
After explaining that he picked Atlanta over Minnesota in free agency because the Vikings wanted to go 'year-to-year' and the Falcons made a longer commitment, Cousins said he was 'pretty surprised' by the news that Penix had been drafted in the top 10.
'I wasn't expecting us to take a quarterback,' Cousins said. 'At the time, it felt like I'd been a little bit misled — or certainly if I had the information around free agency, it certainly would have affected my decision. I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are gonna be drafting a quarterback high.'
Beyond loving Minnesota, Cousins was comfortable in Kevin O'Connell's offense. It became clear during the first episode of Quarterback that Cousins felt a little overwhelmed by the offense in Atlanta.
'It's different enough to feel like I'm starting over,' Cousins said regarding the Falcons offense.
One challenge came from the pre-snap motions and shifts, similar to what the Dolphins had been doing. 'That was a lot to learn,' Cousins said.
It came to a head in Week 1, when a game-deciding fumble happened because of a miscommunication that resulted in a shotgun snap striking tight end Ross Dwelley, while he was going in motion past the center.
'I knew that was gonna happen,' Cousins said as he came off the field.
'I have to give the foot, then send you,' Cousins told Dwelley on the sideline. 'I sent you and then gave the foot. And if I do that, we have no room for error. It's a fumble every time. It was just — all week long, I was paranoid. I'm gonna do it one time and screw it up. And it did.'
It's a tangible, and valuable, example for quarterbacks who are thinking about changing teams in the future. You never know what that team is going to do with its first-round pick. You never know how different the offense is going to be until you're in it.
And you never know how it's going to feel to line up 'with a new team with a new system in a new home stadium' until it's time to do it.
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Insider reveals Braves trade deadline goals
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New York Times
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If Twins sell at trade deadline, getting value for impending free agents is first step
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He's already at 95 innings and hasn't reached 110 since 2019, his rookie season. Back for a second Twins stint on a one-year, $3 million deal, Coulombe has pitched very well in a medium-leverage role focused on facing left-handed hitters and rescuing other pitchers from mid-inning jams. In addition to a 0.71 ERA in 25 1/3 innings, he's stranded 20 of 24 inherited runners. Left-handed relievers are always in midseason demand, and Coulombe has a 2.41 ERA over the past five seasons. However, he's a soft-tossing 35-year-old with a total of just 153 innings during that time, and he missed a month earlier this season with a forearm strain. Advertisement Coulombe would be an easy fit in any bullpen and in any clubhouse, but he's unlikely to be any contender's first choice for an upgrade. Still, turning a $3 million investment into 25 1/3 innings of strong relief and a decent prospect would be a positive outcome for the Twins. France is an odd case from a trade value standpoint. 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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Why did Wild trade Declan Chisholm? Acquire Vladimir Tarasenko? Ask Russo and Smith, part 2
As always, thanks so much for your passion for the Minnesota Wild and support of us throughout yet another hockey season. And thanks for the many awesome questions during this two-part offseason mailbag. If you missed Part 1 on Tuesday, you can check it out here. Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and style. Why trade Declan Chisholm? Sounds like we need a left-shot D, especially to start the season, and it seemed like they were heading toward an extension? — Daniel Schauer The Wild liked Chisholm, who was a pretty versatile depth piece on the blue line, even filling in well in the top four when there were injuries last season. Bill Guerin pointed out it was one of the better waiver claims he's seen in a while. But Guerin also felt that the money wasn't going to work out for the restricted free agent, knowing Chisholm would likely cost more than they were willing to pay for what was essentially a seventh defenseman. The Wild want to give Zeev Buium and David Jiricek an opportunity, and Zach Bogosian is still under contract for another year. Chisholm ended up signing a two-year, $1.6 million AAV deal with the Capitals, which would probably have been too rich for Minnesota. — Smith If the Wild feel they need a depth defenseman, I would go the waiver route at the end of camp. There should be plenty available. Wouldn't it be ironic if they went after, let's say, Daemon Hunt if he doesn't make the Columbus roster? — Russo Thoughts on essentially an exchange of Freddy Gaudreau for Nico Sturm. I know faceoffs are huge and have been a big issue for the Wild and Nico will be a needed upgrade, but won't they miss Freddy and his magic on shootouts? — Sam Villella Gaudreau had two shootout attempts last season, as opposed to three years ago when he was a ridiculous 8 for 13. However, you don't keep a player solely on shootout magic when the 65 minutes of game action before are more important. The Wild feel Sturm is an upgrade in the circle and especially on the penalty kill, which is also a major issue. The trade also got the Wild out of three more years of Gaudreau's $2.1 million AAV after going missing in the playoffs. Gaudreau is better than Sturm offensively (18 goals last season, 19 three seasons ago), but the hope is Vladimir Tarasenko can produce, along with some of the young players. As for shootouts, Mats Zuccarello has 39 shootout goals and shoots at a tremendous 45.3 percent rate. Matt Boldy was their best last season at 3 for 6 and is 8 for 15 in his career. Kaprizov was 7 for his first 18 of his career, although he's 0 for 7 in the past two years. Tarasenko is 16 for 52 in shootouts, and I'm betting Danila Yurov is solid in that area. — Russo Do you think Tarasenko will have more points than Brock Boeser? — Joshua Velcheff Boeser has mostly been a 50-to-55-point player in his career, aside from his 40-goal season a few years ago. That doesn't seem likely to change with him staying in Vancouver. They're paying him at $7.25 million AAV over seven years to score. Tarasenko has just one 50-point season since his 2021-22, 82-point season with the Blues (55 in 2023-24 split between Ottawa and Florida). He's coming off a down season with 33 points in Detroit, but the Wild think that with a better role and communication with the coaching staff, Tarasenko could regain his form here. I still think Boeser has more points this year, but Tarasenko could provide an upgrade on the second-line wing from Marcus Johansson (who had 30 and 34 points, respectively, the last two seasons). — Smith Advertisement I see a number of contracts for other teams offer huge signing bonuses each year with a small salary. Do the signing bonuses count against the cap in the same way? Also, I heard Craig Leipold is against using signing bonuses. Does this put the Wild at a disadvantage when competing for players? — @Bjorn_L3 Signing bonuses count against the cap the same way. Sam Bennett just signed an eight-year, $64 million contract with $56 million in annual signing bonuses spread across the contract and $1 million annual base salary. It's still an $8 million cap. Players like signing bonuses because they get much of their money in lump sums, and it allows them to put that money to work earlier (i.e., investing) and makes it harder for them to be bought out because you can't buy out signing bonus money. Leipold has made clear he knows that if Kirill Kaprizov wants signing bonuses, he'll get signing bonuses. — Russo Free agency won't be the way to go moving forward with a skyrocketing salary cap. Trades likely will be the same when teams can afford their top players' next contracts. So, how do you improve other than through development? Yet we have Marco Rossi developing and don't want to pay him what he's worth in terms of comps. — Ben Hertel There are still going to be available trades, as we've seen this offseason. It'll just be harder to compete as other teams have the cap space as well, and with so many modified no-trade clauses, the Wild will have to show they're a destination spot. But you make a good point about the developing angle of this. Guerin talked about how much they valued their picks — and making them — in his first few years as a GM. As a result, director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett and his staff helped put together what The Athletic's Scott Wheeler labels the second-best prospect pool in the league. This year, however, will be a telling one on the team's pool of young players, as there are a handful of prospects who are expected to play a role on the NHL club. It starts, but doesn't end, with Buium, who should grab a regular role on the blue line, with Jiricek vying for time as well. Yurov is making his much-anticipated arrival from North America. Liam Ohgren is hungry for a middle-six role. It's really important for players on their entry-level contracts to make an impact, and these young players could go a long way in helping the team get over the hump. The latest hire of Greg Cronin to run AHL Iowa will be an important one as they try to balance playing younger players and developing a winning culture. — Smith PuckPedia has Vinnie Hinostroza as a non-roster forward. What's the deal there? — Elijah Bond PuckPedia shuffled its Wild roster to get it consistent with ours, so their available cap space is also consistent with ours ($10.186 million). We don't have Hinostroza making the team out of camp if the roster is healthy. If he outplays someone such as Ohgren, sure, he could make the team. — Russo Pending restricted free agents: Rossi, Michael Milne. Roster hopefuls: Yurov ($950,000), Ohgren ($886,666), Tyler Pitlick ($775,000), Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($775,000), Vinnie Hinostroza ($775,000), Ben Jones (775,000), Hunter Haight ($865,833), Riley Heidt ($950,000), Bradley Marek ($775,000), Caedan Bankier ($867,500), Cameron Butler ($858,333), Rasmus Kumpulainen ($897,500), Milne. Advertisement Roster hopefuls: Buium ($966,667), Jiricek ($918,333), Carson Lambos ($863,334), David Spacek ($862,500), Matt Kiersted ($775,000), Ben Gleason ($800,000), Jack Peart ($925,000), Kyle Masters ($865,000), Stevie Leskovar ($860,000). Roster hopefuls: Cal Petersen ($775,000), Samuel Hlavaj ($875,000), Riley Mercer ($819,167). Cap charges (including Ohgren, Buium, Jiricek, Wallstedt, Yurov): $82,546,666 Projected dead-cap buyout charges, bonus overages: $2,766,666 Projected salary cap for 2025-26 season: $95.5 million Projected salary-cap space: $10,186,668 (excludes re-signings) Sources: The Athletic sources and PuckPedia. Who do y'all think will get the C after 'Spurge?' And if it's either Marcus Foligno or Kaprizov, who gets the A? — Luke If Jared Spurgeon plays out the final two years of his contract, it could end up being a really good bridge to the other top right-shot defenseman on the team, Brock Faber. Faber, 22, would fit the bill as the next 'C.' The former Gophers captain is a franchise cornerstone on a long-term deal. He plays, acts and speaks like a captain. While there are other candidates here, and Foligno could indeed get the 'C' temporarily to finish his deal if Spurgeon moves sooner, Faber seems like a fitting choice. Kaprizov, assuming he signs his long-term extension, is another option, though he'd still be great as a permanent 'A,' with Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek. — Smith What's the plan for renovation at Grand Casino Arena now that the legislature has turned down funding? Any chance they move to Minneapolis? — Mark M The Wild were disappointed but not discouraged, they say, and their plan is to wait for the next legislative session in January to make another pitch. The city of St. Paul owns the arena. Leipold, who owns a team that's only in the building 44 times a season (except the playoffs), is willing to chip in roughly half the ask, but right now, they'll get no public money. The arena is 25 years old and has not had any major renovations, unlike most big-league arenas across the country. At some point, this will come to a head, and if new Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore build an arena in Minneapolis, yes, the Wild could theoretically become a future tenant. Nobody wants it to get to that point, especially considering this arena is so integral to the health of St. Paul. — Russo Advertisement Craig Button said Jiricek's ceiling is as a third-pairing guy. Obviously the organization disagrees, given the haul they gave up for him in the trade. So, where does the team see his ceiling, and who do you think is right? — @Elduderin017 I respect Button's opinion; he's an experienced former executive and longtime TSN director of amateur scouting. Does that mean Jiricek's ceiling is a third-pairing guy? Not necessarily. Button's point was that some teams are so stuck on where they drafted players in the first round — they have to be a top-pair or top-four guy — when they need to make realistic expectations for these prospects. I don't think we've seen enough of Jiricek to make a lock determination on how high he can go. There are some things he needs to work on, notably his skating, but the raw tools are there. The good thing for the Wild is that Jiricek is self-aware and realizes how important this summer is to him. Our guess is how he responds and what he shows next season in his contract year could be telling. — Smith Any timeframe for the new jerseys? – AJ Spears My guess is the 25th anniversary jerseys will be unveiled around State Fair time. They can be worn four times this season, per league rule. It's an homage to their early days. — Russo Do you think Jesper Wallstedt will be ready to back up Filip Gustavsson this year? — Cody Zimmerman The Wild are betting on it, and I don't blame them. He's been their 'goalie of the future' since he was drafted in the first round in 2021, and one of the game's top goalie prospects. I see why there's been some concern over his struggles last season with AHL Iowa, and Wallstedt admitted to me it was a 'terrible' year. But there were other factors involved, from his three separate injuries to poor defensive play in front of him. Wallstedt is bullish on his future and his potential, and perhaps playing in the NHL in front of Faber and company will give him more stability to play his best game. What will be the biggest challenge, however, is adjusting to a backup role and a partnership with Gustavsson. — Smith What former Wild player/coach do you miss interviewing the most? — @Dad30655174 Is it too soon to say Marc-Andre Fleury? I haven't been on the Wild beat that long — this will be my fourth season coming up — so Russo probably has a better answer. But in just a couple of seasons, Fleury quickly became one of my all-time favorite people to chat with in the league. Genuine, insightful, funny. You can see why he was so beloved by teammates in his career. — Smith Derek Boogaard. — Russo Why did Jonas Brodin and/or the medical staff wait 2-plus months after the team was once again bounced in the first round to decide he needed surgery? It could have been done in April. — Glenn Guerin says he was cleared medically to go to the worlds, got through the worlds fine, and then the injury flared up again while working out. That's where it was determined he'd fly to Colorado for surgery. Guerin explained it's the type of injury that sometimes does and sometimes doesn't need surgery. I'd agree it's peculiar that Brodin was cleared for the world championships in the first place. — Russo Eleven months from now, the Wild are hoisting the Cup. As beat writers, the team gives you each a day with it. What are you doing with it? — Reid20 First of all, the chance that will happen is squat, but if it did, I'd take it to Starbucks and fill the giant bowl with Americanos, which should last me a day. Joe would take it to Panera and fill the giant bowl with Diet Coke, which should last him till lunchtime. He's very proud of being a member of Panera's Unlimited Sip Club. On June 30, he saved $154 that month alone on Diet Coke and $966 year to date. And everyone thinks I am the one who has a caffeine addiction. — Russo Advertisement Just because I don't spend $7 a pop on an Americano at Starbucks doesn't mean I have the problem. Who wouldn't want to save on their drink of choice? And, Russo, some of that savings goes to coffee for my wife. — Smith (Top photo of Declan Chisholm: Bailey Hillesheim / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
